We Got Claws
by onlymystory
Summary: The Hale pack can't get along. But they're forced to work together when faeries turn Peter, Scott, and Isaac into children. Also slow-build Sterek.
1. Chapter 1

**This is what happens when I end up in the hospital for 4 days and am given the good drugs. I get visions of mini-Wolverines and start writing Teen Wolf kid!fic. (I'll be finishing up other stories too but for now enjoy some fluff).**

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Stiles was—well he wasn't completely fed up, at least not yet—he was frustrated. Very frustrated. It had been six months since the Alpha pack rolled into town then back out with their proverbial tails between their legs. It was one thing to challenge a new Alpha. It was another when the Alpha had a strong pack of humans and werewolves with connections to hunters. Add on a nine lives and counting Peter Hale and it was insured that the Beacon Hills pack could pose a definite threat.

It had been four months since the damn ghouls showed up. Not that Stiles had a particular prejudice against ghouls in theory. But in practice they reeked. Even the witch they'd dealt with six weeks ago wasn't much of an issue. Though in that case they lucked out more because Lydia was the target and it turned out she was immune to more than just werewolf bites.

However, the pack still hadn't bonded. Put a threat in front of them and it was all 'go team'. Normal life was the disaster. Everyone fought. Scott still couldn't let Derek be his alpha, even though he'd agreed to it and Isaac and Erica blustered their way through, false bravado always evident. Lydia brought up her outsider feelings constantly and while Jackson grumbled that he didn't care, it was obvious he still felt unwanted.

All Stiles could think was that it was beyond ridiculous that he and Derek were getting along, and that his dad knew about this stuff—and turned out to be surprisingly cool—and the rest of the pack couldn't even agree on pizza toppings. For the record, Stiles chose peppers, onions, and bacon because it was Derek's favorite. He thought the guy deserved to get what he wanted without fussing with the Alpha command all the time. Of course even that caused fighting among the others.

So yeah, to say Stiles was annoyed was putting it mildly. So when Peter walked outside and said there were faeries on the property and told Scott and Isaac to come with him to deal with it, Stiles welcomed the reprieve.

"Don't come back until you can act your age!" He hollered after them. Stiles grinned to himself. "Maybe the faeries will curse them with a sense of teamwork."

After an hour Derek gave up trying to mediate between anyone and sent the rest of the pack away, saying he'd call when the boys returned. Erica and Boyd went off to the train depot, which was now regarded as a getaway spot when pack couples wanted privacy, while Lydia and Allison declared the day to be good for shopping. Danny and Jackson invited themselves along for the shopping trip.

"Just the two of us," remarked stiles. "Does it ever seem weird to you?"

"Hmm?" asked Derek.

"You know, us getting along better than just about anyone else," clarified Stiles.

"Sometimes," answered the Alpha, never one to mince words. "But it is peaceful so I take it and don't over think it."

"Good plan," said Stiles, pushing himself up off the porch. "I'm hungry though. You want a BLT?"

Derek nodded. "Thanks."

Stiles had just finished draining the grease from the bacon and was about to turn the stove back on to start the sandwiches when he heard Derek's choked stage whisper.

"St—iles! I need you. No weapons."

Stiles nearly tripped over his own feet in his haste to see what got that noise out of Derek.

At the foot of the porch steps were three small boys, one of about six, the others no more than four. Derek had yet to be noticed by them from his place in the shadows and he motioned for Stiles to stand next to him and listen.

The oldest boy had his back to them and was attempting to whisper, though he could be easily heard. "It'll be okay. I'll tell my grandpops about you. He's very good at finding werewolf packs. He'll know 'zackly what to do," he said matter of factly. He had dirty blonde hair that was combed over and the boy kept tossing his head to get it out of his eyes.

"But we're not werewolves," insisted the boy with big brown eyes and floppy brown hair. "Werewolves aren't real."

The older one nodded sagely. "That's what we're sposed to tell humans. But I know better. I can smell you."

"That's not very nice." The curly haired boy spoke up. "Mama says not to say people smell."

"Well my mama says werewolves can talk about smells. Just come talk to my grandpops. He'll help find your parents."

The two younger boys apparently needed to consult each other so they turned away a little.

Stiles nudged Derek. "Are those ours?"

Derek grinned. "Hilarious isn't it?"

"Try adorable," answered Stiles.

They stepped forward then as the older boy, clearly Peter, seemed to notice them.

"Grandpops!" He yelled and came running up the stairs to hug Derek. A split second later the boy threw himself away from Derek. "You're not my grandpa."

"No, I'm not."

"You look like my grandpa. Why?" demanded Peter, hands in fists on his hips.

Stiles thought it was the cutest thing ever.

"I don't know," answered Derek, a little annoyed at the boy. "What happened to you three?"

"We were in the woods," said Isaac. "I don't usually go in the woods because they're super scary but I was there and so were they. I'm Isaac."

"I'm Scott," he said helpfully. "Scott McCall."

"Thank you for that helpful information," said Derek and he glared daggers at Stiles for laughing.

"Peter thinks we're werewolves, but I know werewolves aren't real," continued Scott, happy to continue sharing his wisdom.

"Oh really?" asked Derek. "But if werewolves aren't real, could I do this?" He snapped his neck and shifted into his beta form, letting the fangs out and his hair grow. If he was hoping to scare the boys, it had the opposite affect.

Scott looked up at Derek in awe. "You're like Wolverine. My hero is Wolverine."

Stiles leaned against the porch rail and silently shook with laughter. Scott was staring at Derek like he'd hung the moon and Isaac was trying to climb up Derek's leg to touch his fangs. Peter was sitting on the steps close to Stiles and he just looked confused and a little bit worried.

Derek finally pulled Isaac off his leg and set him down next to Scott. "You two can do the same thing," he said. "Since you're werewolves."

"How?" asked Isaac.

"Concentrate really hard and imagine your fangs coming out," answered Derek.

"Think happy thoughts and a little bit of pixie dust," muttered Stiles, still giggling though he was slowly recovering.

Derek glared at him. "Not helping."

Scott and Isaac focused hard and because at their age the werewolf side was harder to keep in, they both shifted fairly quickly. Isaac reached a hand out and tugged at Scott's new sideburn.

"You have hair," he stage whispered.

Stiles sank to the ground at Scott's wide-eyed excitement and kept laughing.

Scott turned back to Derek, face screwed up in hope and nerves. "Do we get claws too?"

Derek nodded. "Just picture them popping out and flick open your hand." He grinned a little too at Isaac and Scott as the little boys immediately started waving their hands around, trying to get claws to come out.

Finally, Scott got his claws to pop out. He stood in silence, staring at his hands, then up at Derek, then back at his hands. Then he turned to Isaac, who had also flicked his claws out. Scott raised his little claw hands in the air and went running down the steps into the yard. Both hands were raised high in the air as he yelled, "WE GOT CLAWS!"

Isaac started running around with him, both screaming in excitement while Stiles completely gave up holding it together and started rolling on the ground in laughter. Even Derek couldn't help but start laughing at the antics and he sat down against the porch rail to watch the boys play.

When he sat down, it was close to Peter and the young boy quickly scooted away from him and closer to Stiles.

Derek sighed. "Peter, I know this is confusing and hard to explain but I'm not going to hurt you."

"Why do you look like my grandpa?" asked the little werewolf, eyes flashing gold as he tried to control his panic.

"Because he's my…" Derek paused as Stiles swiftly shook his head. Realizing that saying he was his great grandpa would just cause more problems. But of course Peter was clearly a smart kid and lying wouldn't work. So Derek took a page out of Stiles' book and gave a partial truth. "We're related and I'm taking care of the family house while he's gone."

Derek managed to refrain from choking up on the last word and Stiles gave him a small smile in understanding.

Peter looked like he at least believed Derek wasn't lying but he still slid a little bit closer to Stiles. "Why are they so weird?" he asked, pointing at Scott and Isaac who had taken to standing on rocks while beating their chests and howling.

Stiles barely controlled his burst of laughter.

"They didn't know they were werewolves," answered Derek, rolling his eyes at Stiles' antics. "So we have to teach them about being pack and about keeping it secret."

"Because bad things happen if it's not a secret," said Peter. He said it so matter of fact, but with complete innocence in a way that almost broke Derek. Because naturally this Peter didn't know what Derek had done—or would do in Peter's world—and so didn't realize the depth of what he was saying.

Stiles saved Derek from having to answer. "Yes, Peter. Sometimes bad things happen when it's not a secret. And sometimes people can trick you into telling them the secret because they are bad and you aren't. So we keep it secret."

Peter turned to look at Stiles. "But you know. And you're human. Are you a bad human?"

Derek growled at that, simply a gut reaction, and both men were startled when Peter responded by latching his hands onto Stiles' shirt and burying his face in his stomach.

"Derek, quit terrifying him!" hissed Stiles. And then he gave Derek a look that asked what his life was that he was now worried about whether Peter Hale was scared.

"Stiles is special," said Derek finally, once Peter recovered enough to peek at him with one eye.

Peter wiggled a little closer and patted Stiles' chest with one hand. "He smells nice. Is that why he's special?"

"Oh good grief. Of course he's a natural creeper with potential bad touch tendencies at six years old," groaned Stiles. "This is perfect."

"There are a lot of reasons why Stiles is special," was all Derek would allow.

Peter seemed to accept that and leaned further into Stiles. Eventually Stiles put an arm around the little boy and started to pet his hair while they watched Scott & Isaac wear themselves out. Peter fell asleep as the sun started to set in the distance.

"Um Derek," began Stiles.

"Yeah," said the werewolf, not opening his eyes as he rested against the porch rail.

"It's getting late."

"So?"

"So, it's getting late. Like dinner time, you know when most people eat and watch TV and talk to their parents. And then it will be time to sleep."

"Again. So?"

"So we have three children here that can't just be left alone and no idea how, when, or if they can be turned back into adults."

Derek sighed. "There are beds here. Isaac and Peter have their own rooms anyway and Scott can sleep in the spare room."

"And when Allison comes over and wants to know why a three year old who looks like Scott is watching cartoons? What then? Or the fact that there's no way I'm letting this Peter see all the creepy research shit on the walls of adult Peter's room. Not to mention the fact that you can't cook to save your life and they have to eat. Or that this Isaac probably wants his mom and dad because his mom would be alive at this age and his dad not a raging asshole. What do you have planned for that?"

"Shit."

"Yeah," agreed Stiles.

"I have no idea what to do, Stiles," said Derek. "Shit and you're going to go home and I have to figure out how to take care of three kids and find out what happened."

"Dude, stop panicking. I'm not leaving you," said Stiles, interrupting what was beginning to look like Derek's first panic attack.

"You're not?"

"It's like you don't even know me," he answered with a shake of his head. "Just get my phone out of my hoodie pocket for me so I can make a call."

Derek moved over and reached around Stiles to slip his hand between Peter and Stiles to grab the phone. Stiles felt a twinge of something, he wasn't even sure what, as the pressure of Derek's arm rested against his back.

"Here." Derek handed him the phone.

Stiles took it and called his dad. As the phone rang, he motioned at Derek. "Call the pack and tell them to crash at my house tonight. Make sure they know to come over in the morning but not until then."

"They'll have questions," noted Derek.

"Yeah, I'm sure. Just say we'll answer what we can tomorrow and if they put up a fight I'll make them eat cold cereal instead of making French toast," said Stiles.

Derek nodded, he knew how much the pack loved Stiles' cooking. It was one of the few things everyone agreed on. He moved away to start calling, still keeping an eye on Isaac and Scott, who were now lying in the grass, temporarily exhausted.

"Stiles?" His dad's voice came through the phone. "What's going on?"

"We've got a bit of a situation here. Not life-threatening but not the best either," said Stiles. "Can like half the pack spend the night at the house? They don't do well when they aren't together and Derek's house isn't an option tonight."

"That's fine," said John Stilinski. "Do I get more of an explanation?"

"Yeah. Can you pick up Melissa and come out to Derek's? This is more of a see it to believe it situation," answered Stiles.

"Sure. You're okay?"

"Yeah, Dad, I'm okay. I'll see you soon." Stiles hung up the phone and stared down at the sleeping werewolf curled up against him. "This is just my life," he said quietly.

Then he picked up Peter, carried him inside and set him on the couch, pulling a blanket over him. Once that was done, he headed into the kitchen and dug out several boxes of macaroni & cheese to make for dinner. Stiles looked up when he saw Derek walk in with Scott in one arm and Isaac in the other, both boys sound asleep. Derek raised an eyebrow at Stiles, noting the pots and pans.

"This is our life," repeated Stiles with a shrug.


	2. Chapter 2

By the time John and Melissa pull up to the house, Stiles has the three cubs up and sitting at the kitchen table. He's more than grateful that most of the pack has college fratboy taste buds, as it made cooking dinner much easier.

Each kid has a bowl of macaroni and cheese with a cut-up hot dog in front of them. Scott got grapes with his dinner, Peter has broccoli, and Isaac opted for carrots. The short nap seems to have done wonders for the kids, though luckily they aren't newly overwhelmed with fresh energy.

Stiles suspects that all the exertion from the adult versions didn't go away, leaving the kid versions with more exhaustion than they know what to deal with. He's hopeful that it will make them go to bed early enough for him to talk to Derek about what to do.

"Stiles," called John from the doorway. "We're here. Is this a stay outside behind a mountain ash line we can't see kind of situation?"

Derek moved away from the kitchen to greet the newcomers. "No sir. Come on in. We're in the kitchen."

John and Melissa looked at each other, puzzled, but followed Derek.

"Well this is new," remarked Melissa as she walked in and saw the three kids at the table. "So who did Derek piss off this time?"

Derek gave her a look of pure indignation.

John rolled his eyes. "It wouldn't be the first time, Derek."

Stiles snickered and added more broccoli to Peter's plate.

Scott looked up to see the visitors and knocked his chair over in a hurry to scramble over to his mom. "Mama!"

"Hi Scottie," said Melissa, scooping her son up in her arms.

Scott pulled back a little and stared at her, then patted her cheek. "Mama, how come you look old?" He said.

Melissa gaped at him for a second. In the meantime, Peter stood on his chair and smacked Scott on the back of the head.

"Ow!" yelped the boy.

"'S not nice to say people look old," said Peter firmly. "Specially girls. Uncle Seth says to tell every lady they look younger & prettier every day, then they won't hit you and take away your toys."

Derek, Stiles, and John bit back laughter while Melissa grinned and petted Peter's head. "You sound like a very smart young man and I like you."

Peter smiled happily and sat back down. Scott threw his arms around his mother. "My mama!"

"Yes, Scott, I'm your mother first," said Melissa reassuringly. She sat down in Scott's vacated chair, letting him sit on her lap.

"So other than Scott, am I correct in guessing Peter and Isaac?" asked John.

Isaac briefly looked up from eating when he heard his name and then seemed to dismiss the rest of the conversation.

"Yeah," answered Stiles. "We're guessing faeries, since that's who the three of them were looking for, but Derek and I haven't had a chance to really do any research yet."

"I'd offer to help but I really don't even know where to start," said John.

"I actually figured once the kids were asleep, I could come by the house and start researching downstairs while the pack sleeps in my room." Stiles noticed Derek's look of panic. "And I'll be back tomorrow."

Derek's face didn't change, in fact, Stiles thought he looked more terrified.

"Or my dad can pick up some clothes and my laptop and come back here?"

Derek gave a sigh of relief.

Stiles and John both shook their heads in fond exasperation. Melissa snickered at the mirror image.

"Thank you," said Derek.

"Yeah, yeah," grinned Stiles.

Scott squirmed and twisted to look up at Melissa. "Do I have to stay here too, Mama?"

Melissa gave a light pinch to Scott's nose. "If you want to, sweetheart. It would be like a slumber party."

"Really?" asked Scott, eyes wide. "You think I'm big enough now?"

"I think so. Do you want to stay?" The look in Melissa's eyes made it clear that if her son said no, she would be taking the tiny werewolf back home with her.

"Yep," answered Scott. He slapped his hand on the table and pointed at Isaac. "I'aac is my new best friend."

"Is that so?" joked Stiles.

"That so," said Isaac around a mouthful of macaroni. The little werewolf plopped his hand on top of Scott's. "I al'ays wanted a best friend."

Stiles couldn't resist one last dig, even though he knew that only the adults in the room were even remotely entertained right now. "What if I want to be your best friend, Isaac?"

Isaac gave him one of the best "you're an idiot" looks that Stiles had ever seen. "'Cott's the BEST, 'Tiles. You can be a reg…reg…" His face wrinkled up as he struggled with the word.

"Regular," said Peter helpfully, before dropping his head back down and focusing on his food.

"That word," continued Isaac. "Friend. But 'Cott's my best friend."

Stiles leaned over and wrapped Isaac up in a hug, rubbing his nose at the boy's neck until he howled at the tickles. "You have excellent taste, Isaac."

"Mmmhmm," mumbled Scott. "Taste good."

Derek was laughing harder than Stiles had ever seen, leaning on John for support. Which wasn't really happening since John was currently trying to wipe tears from his eyes. Stiles rolled his eyes at them.

"Well, then if you two wouldn't mind, could you find us some clothes we can use for them?" asked Derek, once he recovered. "They appeared in these but if this takes awhile to fix we'll need more."

Melissa nodded. "I'll take care of it dear. But I'll have to go to a store and it's late. Just let them sleep in some of your shirts tonight."

Derek looked offended by the idea so Stiles stood up and elbowed him in the side. "I'll make your uncle buy you new clothes to replace them once we reverse this. We're already giving the kids your bed, do you really want a naked Scott rolling around in it?"

"No!"

"Okay then. It's 8:30 anyway," said Stiles. "Do you want to be in charge of dishes or getting the munchkins ready for bed?" One look at Derek's face told him everything he needed to know. "Yeah, got it. C'mon, guys, most of the grownups are going home and we are going to find some sleep shirts." He rose from the table and helped Peter and Isaac down as well.

Melissa hugged Scott once more and then set him down too. He promptly ran to Isaac's side. "Take care of my boy Derek," she said firmly. "And Stiles? Don't you dare take advantage of the situation."

Stiles crossed his heart in exaggerated motions.

John laughed, reached over to hug his own son, and followed Melissa out the door.

Bedtime went surprisingly better than Stiles anticipated, though he was fairly certain that was because he'd opted to scrub the boys' faces and hands clean with a towel and not attempt baths just yet. Derek would just have to accept a little extra dirt in the house lately.

Peter looked disdainful at Derek's collection of black shirts and dark colored henleys, but he didn't fight Stiles on wearing one for bed.

Stiles found the only working solution for bed was telling a story, so he let Peter sit on his lap and the other two lean on his legs as he told them all about the brave little toaster.

Peter fell asleep before he'd gotten halfway through. Scott and Isaac conked out somewhere near the end.

Stiles hugged each of the boys as he tucked them in. Yeah, there were many reasons to be concerned, but so far, nothing horrible had happened. Stiles was hoping for the best. Plus, he figured with all three being werewolves, they could scent if he was nervous or afraid. And without the adult control, he didn't want to risk any added danger.

Eventually, between the boys falling asleep and John dropping back by very quickly, the house was clean, and Derek and Stiles seemed to silently agree that they were both too tired to actually research or talk about the problem tonight. Stiles piled the stuff his dad brought over on the table in the den while Derek blew up the air mattress for him.

He figured he'd crash the minute his head hit the pillow, just as Derek seemed to be doing on the couch. There was just one problem.

Stiles could hear Derek breathing heavy on the couch from his spot on the air mattress. Normally, he would ignore it. But something in the sound gave off a feeling of sadness. And Stiles didn't like that. Especially since this didn't feel like Derek's normal sorrow and guilt cocktail. It felt more nostalgic.

Stiles was also aware that something bigger was probably going on if he could read Derek's emotions. One crisis at a time though. Once the feeling got too strong, he stood up and walked over to the couch. Stiles sat down on the edge, back just barely touching Derek's back.

The werewolf rolled over slightly, eyes tinged with red, and looked up at Stiles. "What?" growled Derek.

"You felt sad," whispered Stiles. "I couldn't sleep."

"What do you mean I felt sad?"

"I don't know. Same as I don't get when you say I smell mad. How does anger have a smell? But you can talk to me. Tell me what's wrong. Please?"

Derek huffed. "I'm fine." He didn't sound fine.

Stiles took a chance that their friendship allowed this and he reached up and ran a hand through Derek's hair. "Derek?"

"I…I was the only one who didn't get a hug," he finally admitted.

Stiles' confusion was clearly obvious.

"Earlier," explained Derek, still talking low. "When Melissa and your dad were here, and then when you were telling the boys a bedtime story. Everybody hugged each other and it reminded me of how my family was growing up but it's not like I could just ask for a hug. That's why I'm sad tonight."

Stiles looked down at him, his heart full of pain and loss for Derek, of understanding because no matter how tightly his dad held on, he couldn't hug like Mom. Stiles watched as Derek leaned a little more into his touch, as if taking the comfort where he could get it.

So Stiles made a split second decision. He twisted around, still keeping one hand in Derek's hair, and laid down on the couch next to the werewolf.

"What are you doing?" asked Derek, sounding nervous but not upset.

"I don't really know," admitted Stiles. "But I think this is where I'm supposed to be." He slid his other arm around Derek's rib cage and settled his head against the pillow.

Derek stayed still for a few seconds, then he wrapped one arm around Stiles and pulled him close. Derek's head tucked in against Stiles' shoulder and he soon fell fast asleep.


	3. Chapter 3

Stiles woke up to find 3 werewolves curled around them. Or, to be more precise, four werewolves curled around him. Derek was practically sprawled on top of him, their legs tangled together in a way that Stiles was pretty sure would freak Derek out when he woke up.

The three cubs had made it downstairs at some point. Peter had moved the back couch cushions out of his way so he could snuggle into Stiles' side. Isaac was woven around their feet, in a way that Stiles wasn't even going to begin to try and figure out. Scott had maneuvered his way under Derek's arm, but one hand still reached out and held onto Isaac's as they slept.

Stiles stayed there for a second, toasty warm. But like often happens, now that he was awake the warmth became too much heat. Also he had to pee. He looked to the side to see if he could wiggle out that way, only to find Peter staring at him.

"Morning Peter," said Stiles.

"Sshh," said the little wolf. "They're 'sleep."

"Oh," whispered Stiles quietly. "I need to get up though. And then do you want to help me make breakfast?"

"Breakfast," echoed Peter and he squirmed his way free of the couch, leaving a free space for Stiles.

It took a bit of effort to get out from under Derek, mostly because the older werewolf had a fistful of Stiles' shirt and wasn't letting go. But Stiles finally made it and practically danced to the bathroom to take care of morning business. He brushed his teeth too, only realizing afterwards that he'd used his toothbrush that was already here instead of unpacking his suitcase.

And that just made him more frustrated. If he and Derek could be comfortable enough to trust each other, to have become good friends, surely the rest of the pack could learn to work together. Instead there was just constant bickering until it came down to a crisis. At least as kids they seemed to be getting along better.

Stiles quietly dug out some clothes and pulled them on quickly. Peter would just have to deal with the over-sized shirt for a little while longer. Melissa had promised to be over at 9:30 and it was just coming up on 9am.

Once in the kitchen, Stiles turned to Peter. "We have the whole pack coming over today so what should we make for breakfast?"

"My pack?" asked Peter.

Stiles hesitated. "My pack actually. But I think you'll like them."

"Okay," said Peter, nodding his head.

Stiles was grateful he didn't push the issue.

"Can we have cass'role?" asked Peter.

"Casserole? Oh, like with eggs & sausage," clarified Stiles. "We sure can. "Will you get the eggs out of the fridge for me?"

Peter nodded solemnly and while Stiles found dishes and a frying pan for the meat, Peter carefully brought him all the ingredients from the fridge. Stiles noted that there were also onions, peppers, and mushrooms in the pile Peter was creating and he smiled.

"Good job getting veggies," he said.

Peter beamed. "Can we have biscuits too?"

Stiles nodded. "I think that sounds like an excellent idea. And I want to have some fruit too. Can you pick out the kinds you think everyone would like?"

Peter set off on his new task, and Stiles watched for a minute as the cub picked out each piece of fruit individually, sniffing it to decide if it was worthy of today's breakfast before either putting it on the counter or back in the drawer. It made Stiles wonder if it was just the fire that took away Peter's sweet nature or something more. And then that just made him want to cry so he determinedly turned back to putting together three casseroles. With the extra adults invited over today, that might just be enough.

Noises from the other room and indecipherable babble told him the others had woken up. A few minutes later, a freshly clothed Derek walked into the room, his eyes showing he was still a little groggy. He held Isaac in one arm and Scott in the other, both boys perched on Derek's hips.

If Stiles had ovaries, they would have been going boom.

As it was, he chose a distraction in Peter and instructed him to set strips of bacon on a baking sheet. When Stiles turned back around Scott and Isaac were sitting at the kitchen table and Derek was sipping on coffee while leaning against the counter.

"Sure we've got enough food?" teased Derek.

"Four extra adults plus the pack," returned Stiles. "And I've seen the way our female pack members put it away. Even with child appetites, we'll be just about covered."

"Thank you, Stiles," said Derek.

The words sounded weightier than normal and Stiles knew the thank you applied to a lot more than breakfast.

"You're welcome," was all he said in reply.

"D'rek?" Scott's voice was startling in the quiet.

Stiles and Derek both turned towards the boy. "What's up, Scott?" asked Stiles.

"I's just wondring, can D'rek show us more about werewolves?"

Isaac's eyes brightened and he too looked at Derek hopefully.

"Sure," answered Derek. "Why don't we sit here and practice while Stiles and Peter make breakfast?"

"Can't Peter learn too?" asked Isaac, looking concerned that the older boy might be left out.

"I'm going to show you how to make your claws go in and out. I think Peter knows how to do that already. But if he wants to join us, he can," noted Derek.

Peter shook his head, turning away from his bacon project for a second. "I know how. I want to help Stiles."

"And I appreciate the help," said Stiles, giving Peter a sidearm hug.

Derek moved to sit down by the two cubs and Stiles started scooping his chopped vegetables into the casserole dishes, mixing them in with the eggs and sausage. Once those were in the oven, he let Peter mix up biscuit dough and place that on pans too. His last task was setting the table, which would wait for the werewolf lesson to be over, and in the meantime, he began chopping fruit. Peter was arranging it in a bowl in what looked like by color.

While Stiles and Peter cooked, Derek finished his cup of coffee and turned to Scott and Isaac. "Okay, first put your hands on the table."

Isaac and Scott did so immediately, then looked at Derek expectantly.

"Watch," said the Alpha. He flexed his hands slightly and just the claws popped out. The rest of the shift didn't happen. "Now you try."

Scott promptly got his claws to shift but he also had fangs drop down and wolfy sideburns appear. Isaac got one claw to appear on his right thumb.

"I mess up," said Scott dejectedly. Isaac patted him on the hand.

"Me too," he said, sounding much less upset than Scott.

"It's okay," interjected Derek. "That was a good start."

"S'okay?" asked Scott tentatively.

Derek squeezed Scott's shoulder. "Yes. This is why we practice. Then you'll be able to get it right."

Scott perked up a little at that.

Stiles watched as Derek slowly taught the cubs how to focus on one part of their shift. Scott kept trying to do everything at once, while Isaac seemed to be scared of letting go. But by the time John and Melissa walked into the room, the two boys were happily snapping their claws in and out just fine.

"Wow," said the Sheriff as he came in with two boxes that he set down on the table. Melissa placed a couple grocery bags on the counter.

"Mama!" shouted Scott. "Look, look! D'rek taught me to make claws."

Melissa smiled as Scott showed off his newfound skill. "That's very cool, sweetie."

Scott stood up in his chair to hug his mom. "D'rek's the best," he stage-whispered in her ear. "He's my hero."

Derek choked and refilled his coffee cup to hide the way all the dust in the room was starting to bother him. He'd have to do something about that.

"Did you learn too, Isaac?" asked John, noticing the little cub felt left out.

"Uh huh," said Isaac, nodding his head. He demonstrated for John's benefit and was immediately rewarded with compliments.

Peter started helping Melissa unpack the bags she brought and beaming over every item. It was quite possibly one of the more adorable things Stiles had seen so far this morning. Milk, juice, creamer, butter, and extra coffee were all there.

"You're amazing," said Stiles. "I wasn't sure I had enough to around."

"I figured," said Melissa. "And there's some sippy cups for Scott and Isaac so they don't spill juice everywhere. Now how can I help?"

Stiles looked around. "Well Peter's been a big help with breakfast," he began, smiling as he saw the said boy preen just a little bit. "Everything's in the oven except the bread and I'll add that as soon as the bacon finishes. I guess maybe if you'd help get the three of them dressed? I can finish the rest."

Melissa nodded. "Sure. John, grab those boxes and follow me."

They headed towards a spare bedroom, all three cubs trudging behind.

"So far, so good," said Stiles to Derek once the others were gone.

Derek frowned.

"You're worried it's too good," interpreted Stiles.

Derek's eyebrows did a weird dance.

"So it seems too good but there's also no reason for the fae to do this so you're confused about what happened in the woods?" questioned Stiles.

"How do you do that?" stammered Derek.

"Do what?"

"Read my facial expressions."

"I watched you, learned how you talk when you don't know what to say. But I do need more in this case so spill."

Derek continued explaining while getting up to start putting dishes out on the table. "My family had a long standing peace treaty with the Beacon Hills fae. I know things have been insane the last couple years but I've been careful not to violate the agreement. I don't know why they would do this."

Stiles pondered for a moment. "What if it's not malicious?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, if there's a treaty of peace, the fae seem unlikely to have a need to break it."

Derek tilted his head as he set coffee mugs on the table, indicating Stiles should continue.

"They're powerful, right? So if this was the result of a leadership change, it stands to reason they'd attack in a more damaging way," explained Stiles, working through the situation in his head. "Maybe the point of this isn't a challenge but an opportunity."

"But an opportunity for what?"

"I'm not sure," admitted Stiles, handing Derek a stack of plates. "But if nothing else, the five of us are getting along right now and that's more than we've had since Peter first woke up from his coma."

Derek grunted his agreement. "True. So first step find the fae and ask their purpose?"

"Yeah. That sounds like the best idea. If nothing else, we need to know a time-frame for the spell and if there are any adverse side-effects." Stiles poured the latest pot of coffee into the serving container and started a new pot. "And if the fae attack, we'll know this is a really bad situation."

The sound of cars outside made both Stiles and Derek perk up, just as Melissa and John walked in with the freshly scrubbed and dressed cubs. Peter was wearing a Batman t-shirt that looked suspiciously like one Stiles owned as a kid. He bit back a grin at the idea of Peter in a comic book shirt. Isaac had on plaid over a plain t-shirt, looking perfectly normal. Scott was wearing a black t-shirt and it looked like Melissa had done her best to slick her son's hair up to match Derek's as close as possible.

"That looks like a really creative outfit Scott," said Stiles, flashing a cheeky grin at Derek.

The Alpha rolled his eyes.

"Do I hear the rest of them?" asked John, helping get each boy seated.

Melissa filled cups with juice, putting a little less in Peter's but keeping the lid off. Peter looked grateful at being acknowledged as older than the other two.

"Yes," answered Derek.

He didn't really need to though as Boyd, Erica, Jackson, Lydia, and Danny poured into the room. "What's the big deal?" started Lydia.

"Your bed is really comfortable, Stiles," said Erica.

"Yeah if our werewolf sides are going to keep needing us to sleep as a big group, I vote we move to Stiles' house," added Jackson. Granted Lydia and Allison didn't have the same needs but they didn't like being left out.

Stiles couldn't for the life of him understand why the pack was so determined to fight against the bond. Everything they did, helping each other in danger, needing each other's presence to sleep, it all added up to a true pack. But inevitably, they'd end up fighting and picking at faults and insist that the others were out to get them. It was exhausting.

"Um guys…" was all Stiles said as he inclined his head to the table.

"Whoa!"

All the newcomers came to a complete stop.

"Who is that?" asked Lydia.

"I'm Scott," said the boy proudly, sticking his hand out towards Jackson who was closest.

Jackson shook it, thoroughly confused as he did so. "Scott. Our Scott?" he asked, turning to Derek.

"Yeah," answered Derek. "Also Isaac and Peter." He pointed to each werewolf as he named them. "They went looking for the fae yesterday and came out of the woods like this."

"Of course Peter would go looking for a fight," said Lydia with disdain.

"We don't know that there was a fight," noted Stiles.

"Regardless, all three are werewolves still but their memories are as if they've traveled back to that time period," explained Derek.

The pack made their way around the table, sitting down and filling plates.

Erica kept staring at Isaac as though completely fascinated.

Danny was one of the last through the doorway and Isaac dropped his fork with a clatter when Boyd moved out of the way of the young human. Isaac leaned over and tugged on Derek's shirt. "Derek, Derek!"

"Yes, Isaac?" Derek smiled at the cub.

"Who's tat?" he asked.

"That's Danny," answered Derek.

"He's bootiful," whispered Isaac in a reverent tone. "Can he sit by me?"

Jackson and Stiles hid smirks behind their hands. Danny just walked over to the empty chair by Isaac. "I'd be honored to sit by you. It's very nice to meet you, Isaac," he said, reaching out and shaking the boy's hand.

Isaac turned to Derek again. "Can I show Danny what I learnded?"

Derek nodded. "Just be careful, okay."

Isaac nodded solemnly and looked back at Danny. He spent the next several minutes showing the human his claws. Danny praised him every time, grinning at the little werewolf.

Stiles slid the last of the food on the table. "Everyone dig in. Deaton just called saying he can't make it but Chris & Allison should be here soon."

Peter looked pleadingly at Stiles so he moved to sit next to him. Peter helpfully filled Stiles' plate for him.

Scott looked up at Boyd. "You're very pretty too."

"Um, thank you?" said Boyd.

Lydia and Erica laughed at Boyd's confused expression.

"We should be friends," said Scott firmly. "I'aac is my bes' friend but Mama says I can have two friends."

"Just two?"

Scott wrinkled his nose, thinking. "Maybe three. I'd be the luck…luck'est boy ever with three friends."

Stiles exchanged a look with Derek. It was seeming more and more likely that the fae's spell had good intentions. They'd made it 20 minutes without anyone fighting. If Stiles kept track of such things, this would be a record for them.

The sound of a door alerted them to Allison's arrival. The girl stopped in the doorway. "We have a problem," she started.

"We know," said Derek, nodding at the three cubs. "Have some breakfast and we'll figure out what to do next."

Allison looked at the table, noting who was there and quickly figuring out who each kid was. "Oh thank god," she breathed. "It's not just me."

Stiles paused from stuffing a slice of bacon in his mouth. "Not just you?"

Allison just stepped into the room. A six year old Chris Argent was holding tightly to her hand.


	4. Chapter 4

Everyone stared for several very long seconds.

"So that's new," said Stiles after a while, finally breaking the silence. "When did this happen?"

"Yesterday," answered Allison. "We heard rumors of fae in the preserve and Dad wanted to take a look. We split up at one point and when I finally found him, he looked like this."

Lydia beckoned for Allison to come sit by her. "You might as well sit down. This is clearly the kind of problem best dealt with over a full stomach."

Allison set Chris up in a chair next to her and then sat down herself.

"I'm Christopher," said the little boy, giving Allison a dirty look for not introducing them.

"Oh I'm so sorry," said the girl with a roll of her eyes. "Yes, this is Christopher. These are my friends."

"Alli is my babysitter," Chris looked like he didn't think he needed a babysitter.

"That's very nice of her," interjected John. "Would you like something to eat, Christopher?"

He nodded. "Yes, pease."

Once both Argents had plates full of food, Stiles turned to Chris. "I'm Stiles. Do you want to meet everyone else?"

"No thank you," answered the boy. "'Cept him," he added, pointing at Peter. "Who's dat?"

Stiles grinned and watched the others hold back a laugh at Chris' honesty. "That's Peter."

"He's p'ity," observed Chris.

Peter blushed and buried his face in Stiles' arm.

"So what are we going to do about this?" asked Jackson in an exasperated tone.

Derek glared at him. "For now, we're going to eat and be civil and remember that there are four children here that don't need to hear the conversation. Once they're done, they can play outside and the rest of us can talk. Now quit being a jerk."

"Mama says if I'm mean, I can't have dessert," piped up Scott.

"But we don't have 'sert," said Isaac, looking quite dejected about it.

Danny patted his hand in sympathy. "Maybe we should take away Jackson's bacon. He has an awful lot of it, wouldn't you agree, Isaac?"

Isaac nodded firmly and the others looked to see 8 slices on Jackson's plate. Quick as a flash, Danny snatched away all but two slices, setting his spoils on his plate and Isaac's.

Peter looked wistfully at the bacon so Danny gave him a piece as well.

"Alli, can I have some?" asked Chris quietly, tugging on the girl's sleeve.

Peter broke his slice in half and reached across the table to Chris. "I can share."

Chris smiled brightly at the other. "T'ank you."

Peter turned red again. He refused to talk for the rest of the meal, holding on to Stiles, but he kept sneaking glances at Chris the entire time.

Chris in turn wouldn't stop standing up on his chair and leaning over to whisper in Allison's ear. Every question was about Peter and while Stiles couldn't hear all of them, the ones he could made him smile along with the rest of the pack. Chris seemed to be fascinated with Peter and the feelings were clearly mutual.

Isaac and Scott kept the meal lively. When asked about a favorite superhero, Isaac promptly answered. "Batman. He's the best."

"N'uh," insisted Scott. "Wolv'rine is the coolest."

Isaac shook his head. "Batman has Catwoman. That makes him best."

"I like Batman too," said Erica, doing her best to head off the impending fight.

Allison leaned over to Scott and spoke in a stage whisper, though she acted like she was sharing a secret. "I always thought Wolverine was pretty awesome."

Scott beamed at Allison. "You're pretty." He turned to Melissa who had been hard pressed to hide her giggles the entire morning. Not that John was helping at all. "Mama, can Alli be my babysitter too?"

Allison looked slightly horrified.

Melissa barely refrained from laughing out loud. "I think Allison has enough to worry about with Chris. You don't want to make her sick from looking after too many boys do you?"

Scott turned his head back and forth very slowly. "Nooo."

"Besides," interjected Derek. "Allison probably feels like she already got babysitting experience over the last year."

Boyd, Erica, and Stiles burst into laughter. Lydia smirked and Allison threw an orange slice at Derek's head.

"You are horrible," she said with a laugh.

Isaac reached over Danny to tap Erica's arm. "Will you be my fwiend?"

Erica beamed. "Of course, sweetie."

"Okay," Isaac, satisfied, sat back in his chair and worked to finish eating.

There was a bit more banter but for the most part everyone worked to finish eating. When they were done, Melissa sat with the kids while the rest of the pack quickly cleaned up the dishes.

Well to be more precise, Boyd, Danny, Jackson, Allison, and John did the dishes. Melissa sat with Scott, not that any of them would let her help clean up anyway. Between Scott and Isaac living with her on a normal basis, not to mention being a nurse, she dealt with enough pack messes.

Derek insisted that Stiles sit down and stop trying to help since he'd done (and would be doing) enough already. Lydia refused to mess up her manicure and nothing Derek said would budge her. Erica had chosen the more clever route of offering to tell Isaac stories about Batman, getting the tiny werewolf to sit on her lap, and thus getting out of dish duty.

Boyd quickly delegated the pack into an assembly line of sorts and the cleaning went by without any issues.

Stiles took note and resolved to talk to Derek later about officially appointing Boyd to the position of second in the pack. The young werewolf retained a calm head and it had been his concern and budding love for Erica that caused him to run away in the first place all those months ago. There also wasn't any animosity between Boyd and other pack members, with the exception of a tentative peace between himself and Allison.

Even that was getting better, just slowly.

But unlike trying to promote Scott or Jackson or Peter, or even himself, Boyd would be the easiest to get the pack to accept.

The only other possible choice was Isaac. Setting aside the current issue, Stiles knew that Isaac didn't want it. The young werewolf was closer to Scott, but Stiles had made an effort to talk to him, and Isaac wasn't interested in leadership. He liked having an example to follow and Isaac was self-aware enough to know his more sadistic tendencies were dangerous to the pack.

Stiles also knew that Isaac would be one of the most helpful in bringing the pack together since he wanted it so badly. He craved that family atmosphere.

When they'd finished and everyone was sitting with fresh cups of coffee, Melissa and John stood to go, pulling the kids out of chairs as they went.

"We're going to get these guys cleaned up," said John.

"And then take them shopping for some clothes and things," added Melissa.

Derek set his coffee cup down and appeared concerned. "You both are welcome to stay. This obviously concerns you."

Melissa smiled. "That's very sweet dear. But you can inform us of your theories and the next step when we get back."

"Besides," said John, "I think it's best if there aren't four little sets of ears listening to this conversation."

Derek nodded. "That's a good point. Thank you."

"Sure." The two adults took the four kids and were out the door within five minutes.

Once gone, Lydia spoke up first. "So. I think we have several problems here. I suggest we make a list."

"Who changed them," offered Erica.

"The motivation behind the spell," said Danny.

"How to get them back," said Jackson.

Allison sighed. "And what to do with them until then."

Stiles wrote down each point as mentioned. Derek had moved to sit by him and he kept the pad over far enough that Derek could read along if he wanted.

"Are we sure this wasn't just Scott being an idiot?" questioned Jackson with a roll of his eyes.

Allison glared at him. "Why do you assume its Scott's fault? My dad wasn't with Scott."

"Derek certainly has a tendency to piss enough people off," said Lydia. "Just by virtue of existing."

Stiles and Erica both turned on her. "He does not," snapped Erica.

"This wasn't his fault," Stiles jumped in as well.

Lydia opened her mouth in protest.

"Shut up, Lydia," snapped Stiles.

Several faces turned towards him in shock.

"Whoa." Jackson looked the most surprised.

"You can't talk about people like that." Stiles was seriously put out and only calmed when Derek put a hand on his leg.

"Stiles, it's fine." At Stiles' indignant noise, Derek clarified. "Okay it's not but there are bigger issues to deal with." He faced the pack. "First things first. Peter, Isaac, and Scott were going out to look for the fae that have been rumored back in woods."

Boyd looked thoughtful. "Didn't you say your family had a truce with the local fae though?"

Derek smiled, pleased that Boyd remembered. "Yes. Which is why Stiles and I suspect that there may be more to it than a simple attack. Even with the recent issues, we haven't done anything to break the agreement."

"Is there a way to talk to them?" asked Danny.

Stiles jumped in. "I have to do some research through Peter's laptop on how to set up a peaceful meeting between representatives. It'll probably take me at least a day to research and then however long it takes for the fae to agree. Or disagree."

"And from there, we can figure out our next steps," said Derek.

There seemed to be general agreement.

"Scott and Isaac will both be staying with Melissa from here on out," noted the Alpha. "Peter of course is here."

"Doesn't look like he likes Stiles at all." Danny grinned and the rest of the pack laughed with him.

"In fairness, Peter has been a little creeper where Stiles is concerned at any age," said Erica.

Derek continued as though he hadn't been interrupted. "Stiles has been nice enough to offer to help out and since it's summer we don't have to worry about school. But I will expect everyone else to be around as well. Allison, if you'd like, you and Chris are welcome to stay here."

Allison looked at Derek in surprise. The others seemed wary.

"I realize it seems odd. Stiles has offered his room for Erica and Boyd…"

"Change the sheets," interrupted Stiles.

Erica leered at him.

Boyd smiled. "Thank you, Stiles. I think whether or not we'd take you up on the offer depends on Allison."

"Are you sure, Derek?" asked Allison.

He nodded. "I'm not saying I'll be completely comfortable but you shouldn't have to take care of your dad in this state on your own. And from the looks of things, he and Peter are getting along anyway."

"I'm pretty sure Peter has a crush," laughed Jackson. "Go figure."

Allison searched Derek's eyes to be sure and seemed to find what she was looking for. "I appreciate that, Derek. Thank you."

"You're welcome."

"Cool." Stiles hopped up from his chair. "In that case, I'll see what I can find in Peter's stuff and my own research and call you guys when we have more information."

"Wait, do you need my help to get into Peter's computer without him around?" asked Danny.

Stiles shook his head. "He told me it a couple months ago when we were dealing with the witch in case he wasn't around."

There was a pause.

"Well?" Derek looked at Stiles expectantly.

Stiles hesitated. "Oh fine. But there will be no commentary."

"Why would he have any comment on Peter's password choices?" Lydia asked the question with disdain.

Stiles spoke quickly. "One zero zero eight seven one." He shrank back against the counter as he finished.

The others stared at him, completely baffled as to why Stiles was being so weird.

Derek followed Stiles' eye line, directly to Allison, who was pale.

"Stiles," she said in a very quiet voice. "Why is Peter Hale's password my father's birthdate?"


	5. Chapter 5

**I really should update my other WIPs but I've been sick for several days now and this story is the only one cheering me up. So yay you guys!  
No kids in this particular chapter. Instead there's some hopefully good indicators of how much Derek & Stiles trust each other, plus some fun reveals about secrets in the pack, and good old pack bonding.**

* * *

Stiles tried to fake ignorance. Which was a pretty stupid idea since he'd already let on that he knew what the numbers meant. But evasion is always worth at least a try. "That's your dad's birthday? Weird."

"Stiles." Allison's voice was almost at the same level of you will give me an answer as Derek's Alpha tone.

"Peter uses different pack member passwords for different things?" Okay, worth two tries.

"The only thing Peter needs a password for is his laptop."

"Nuh, uh! His safe-deposit box with his will has a password." Stiles nearly smacked himself in the head. Filter, brain, filter!

Derek gaped at him. "Peter has a will? Shouldn't I know about that since if he died again I'd have to be executor?"

Stiles mumbled really fast. "Youwouldthinksoexceptyoureno ttheexecutorandIshouldshutup now."

"What?" Derek clearly did not keep up with Stiles' word vomit.

Allison did. "Stiles. Is my father the executor of Peter's will?"

"I really have no idea."

Four pairs of werewolf eyes glaring at him made it clear that he wasn't allowed to lie.

"Okay fine, yes, Chris Argent is Peter's executor. But once Peter's back to his normal self none of you are allowed to say I told you." Stiles really wished his brain would tell him if it was going to take a vacation. He hoped his filter was having a nice vacation. Maybe someplace sunny. Like Cancun. Or Aruba.

"Do you want to explain that a little more?" asked Lydia when it became clear that both Derek and Allison were still trying to figure out words.

Stiles sighed. "Allison, what's the code to your basement door?"

"Zero four two three seven four."

Derek gave Stiles a sharp look.

"And the gun safe code?"

The answer came quickly. "One one one five nine two." Allison looked blankly at Stiles. "So?"

Stiles just turned to Derek.

"The first one is Peter's birthday," answered Derek.

There were a few shocked gasps. Erica looked a little more devious.

"But I have no idea about the second one," said Derek, looking to Allison apologetically.

"It was their anniversary," offered Stiles quietly.

Jackson pulled a chair out for Allison, who looked like she was about to fall over at that news. Derek sat down too, but one hand reached out and held Stiles' wrist in a vice grip.

"Stiles, I really need you to explain," said Allison.

He hesitated. "It's not my story to tell. I shouldn't have said anything in the first place."

Derek tugged on his wrist. "Please."

"Okay. But you need to ask one of them about this once they're adults again," admonished Stiles.

Derek and Allison nodded their agreement.

"Peter and Chris met at college," began Stiles. "According to Peter, Chris was the dorm RA and for him it was pretty much love at first sight. I guess Chris figured it out more when Peter kissed him on Chris' birthday. Chris asked him out the next day and they were official a month later. They dated for about two years before breaking up."

"Let me guess. They learned what the other really was," said Allison bitterly. She wasn't very happy at the idea that her dad had dated a werewolf and let his own prejudice get in the way of her own dating choices.

Stiles shook his head. "Peter said they knew from the beginning. Neither one wanted the relationship to be based on lies."

"Then why break up?" questioned Erica.

"Gerard."

"What did my grandfather have to do with it?"

Stiles gave her his best 'are you kidding me' look. "You think Gerard would have been okay with his hunter son dating a werewolf?"

"Oh. But Dad's always gone against Gerard. I can't imagine him agreeing to stop seeing Peter, if they really did care about each other, just because my grandfather was prejudiced."

"Chris didn't agree," explained Stiles. "He apparently told Gerard exactly that."

Allison looked confused.

"So Gerard went to Peter. And told him that if he didn't break it off with Chris, Gerard would kill his own son and send the pieces to Peter as a memento." Stiles had felt like vomiting when Peter told him the story and by the expressions on his fellow pack members, the feeling was mutual.

"Oh my god," breathed Allison.

Stiles peeled Derek's fingers away and moved to refill his coffee. "That's all I'm saying. Any other answers need to come from Peter or Chris once they're back to adults."

Derek and Allison nodded their heads in agreement.

"How do you know all this?" asked Lydia.

"Peter told me that night when the witches doused all of you guys with that random wolfsbane potion." Stiles' eyes grew sorrowful. "I've never seen him look so broken. I get that this is a lot for both of you to take in and that we have enough to deal with just with the de-aging business, but I really don't think Peter ever stopped loving Chris."

Allison spoke softly. "It sounds like neither one ever stopped."

The room was quiet for a while, the only sounds coming from raised & lowered cups. Eventually Jackson broke the silence. "Could we do some training drills while the younger ones are gone? And while Stiles works on research."

"Good idea." Derek gives Jackson a grateful look at the suggestion.

Stiles mentally noted the genuine smile on Jackson's face at Derek's approval and told himself to talk to Derek about being more vocal in his praise. Maybe that would help with Jackson and Scott once his best friend returns to his proper age.

While Derek worked on training with Boyd, Erica, Danny, and Jackson, Allison practiced knife work with Lydia.

Stiles sat outside watching for a while as he searched for information between the internet, his downloaded copy of the Argent bestiary, and Peter's personal research.

Derek stayed away from hide and seek drills since they didn't know for sure what the situation was with the woods. Instead, the focus started on hand to hand combat. Danny was paired up with Erica and Boyd with Jackson.

Stiles silently approved. Boyd was too easy on Erica and she in turn too hasty in trying to prove she was fine. Jackson and Erica used their words too much when sparring each other, resorting to cruel taunts instead of a traditional fight. Danny however fought fair opposite Erica, not easing up but keeping to the techniques Derek wanted highlighted during each round. Jackson moved more quickly but Boyd was strong and steady, allowing each to win sometimes with their individual strengths, and challenge the other's weaknesses.

In fact, the training was going surprisingly better than it had in months. While the wolves sparred, Derek came to sit by Stiles.

"Any luck?"

Stiles nodded. "Looks like it. The treaty information is in Peter's research so it's just a matter of sorting through it."

"Is there a problem?" asked Derek.

"I don't think so. At least not so far. I can't find any way that we broke the treaty so that's good. There is a bit about the fae being protectors but there's a couple words I don't recognize so I'll have to look them up. I think there might be something in that." Stiles was actually quite certain that section was the issue. He just didn't know how yet.

Derek squeezed his shoulders reassuringly. "I'm sure you'll figure it out. You're the smartest one in the pack."

Stiles smiled. "You know Lydia's smartest. With Peter right behind her."

Derek nodded slowly. "Maybe at book knowledge. Not that you aren't smart there too. But you're better at finding pertinent information. Lydia looks at the big picture and needs to know everything. We'd research for weeks that way. But you find the best solutions and work from there."

Stiles tried protesting again.

"Take the compliment, Stiles."

He blushed. "Thank you." Needing to divert the attention from himself, Stiles looked back at the pack. "The training seems to be doing better today. What made you switch up the pairs?"

"You."

Stiles raised his eyebrows in question.

"You mentioned that the cubs were getting along," explained Derek. "I thought maybe pairing everyone up with people they actually like might be a better option. Seems to be working. They're more focused on fighting well instead of just attacking the other."

Stiles nodded his agreement.

Derek sat with him for a few more minutes before returning to the other werewolves. He switched up the training so that the pairs had to work together to fight him.

While they worked, Stiles used his notes to decipher the treaty. He wasn't a natural at picking languages the way Lydia was but he had a better grasp on linguistics as a whole. It allowed him to translate specific words or phrases easily and with Lydia's notes on archaic Latin close at hand, the process went fairly quickly.

Once Stiles thought he had it figured out, he closed the laptop and went inside to make lunch.

John had texted and said they were taking the boys to lunch and then back to Melissa's for a nap. John would be over for dinner with supplies, Peter, and Chris.

Stiles texted back a quick thank you and scoured the cabinets. He and Derek were going to have to go shopping. There were plenty of breakfast foods, but since it was usually only Derek and Peter there at night—except for the days when Stiles showed up randomly with Chinese or pizza—the rest of the options were limited.

He scraped together enough to make grilled cheese sandwiches and dumped eight cans of tomato soup together in a stock pot. Simple sure but Stiles figured the remaining pack members would be appreciative. At least they'd better be.

With the exception of a couple jabs from Jackson, who stopped once Stiles congratulated him for being the first to get a hit on Derek, the others were pretty grateful.

As they ate, Stiles thought about what he'd learned from his research—which he'd tell Derek about after the pack left—and his observations from today.

Technically, he knew that he and Derek stood for the two opposing sides of the pack. Their friendship had kept the two different groups together enough to fight enemies and for the wolf sides to bond. It was all the individual issues that had the biggest problems.

For one, Stiles knew that the Peter and Chris situation, which was much bigger than any of the others knew, was one factor. Chris joining the pack in more than a tentative truce could go a long way.

Allison, Boyd, and Erica were actually trying with each other. The distrust was still there though. And Stiles knew it didn't help that Scott snapped at Erica every two seconds.

Jackson and Isaac hated each other, mostly from Isaac's very justified side of things.

Scott refused to listen to or trust Derek, while Peter trusted Stiles once in a blue moon and then pulled his creeper shit the rest of the time.

Lydia undermined just about everyone with cutting remarks, though Stiles knew that a single apology from Peter would go a long way. He suspected that Lydia also wanted an apology from Allison, for not telling her sooner what was going on back when Peter had possessed her.

But even with today, Stiles could see changes. Allison had to talk to the others without Scott around so there was actual progress.

Jackson didn't have a constant reminder of his failures to help Isaac around, so he wasn't overcompensating out of guilt.

Boyd wasn't being overlooked as the quiet one of the pack so his opinions seemed to carry more weight.

And most importantly, Stiles noted that without the judgmental trio of Chris, Peter, and Scott, Derek had more confidence in himself as Alpha, and was therefore more free with his praise of the betas.

The cheerfulness showed in training and again during the pleasant lunch conversation.

Everyone left after helping clean up again, with Derek showing Allison to the spare room and indicating space where she could put clothes for herself and Chris. He promised to make up a pallet on the floor for Chris to sleep on.

Allison agreed to come back in time for dinner and then caught a ride back home with Jackson and Lydia.

An hour later, Derek was pushing a shopping cart through the store and arguing with Stiles' over food choices. "Why would you buy eggplant?" complained the werewolf.

"Um, to make eggplant parm," retorted Stiles. "Which is delicious and healthy. I'm not actually planning on letting the pack live off beanie weenies."

"But it's purple."

"That's not an acceptable argument." Stiles put several in the cart and turned towards the tomatoes. He spent another twenty minutes selecting various vegetables. Other than the box of apples that he grabbed, Derek stopped arguing. Though he kept making growling noises when Stiles added kale and cabbage to the cart.

"It's like you're a heathen," said Stiles finally.

"Werewolves don't need to eat all this vegetable stuff. Protein is most important," insisted Derek.

Stiles stuck his hands on his hips and glared at Derek. "You're going to sit here and tell me that your mother never made you eat your vegetables."

"Well…" Derek hesitated.

"That's what I thought." Stiles pushed at the cart until Derek turned towards the cereal aisle. He grabbed a couple healthy options, but tossed in somewhat sweet choices too.

"So vegetables are vital but they can have sugary cereals?" complained Derek.

"It's called balance, Derek. With milk and fruit, one bowl of sugary cereal won't hurt them."

Derek pouted. "Sure let Peter have the good stuff."

"Oh my god, dude, just pick out your favorite," laughed Stiles. "You're the one paying anyway. I'm just trying to help."

Derek seemed to perk up once he realized Stiles wasn't forcing him to only eat nutritious foods. Stiles in return did his best not to laugh at Derek's antics throughout the store. He kept picking out foods and looking to Stiles for approval, then grinning happily when Stiles agreed. The teen would have made fun of Derek but he got the feeling that other than take-out and basics, Derek probably hadn't actually been on a traditional shopping trip since his parents were alive. And if the werewolf could get this much enjoyment out of the grocery store, Stiles wasn't taking that away.

Plus, Stiles found the entire thing adorable. Derek's genuine smiles and contentment were something to behold.

It wasn't until they got back to the house that the conversation switched to more serious topics.

"Were you able to figure out that section of the treaty?" asked Derek as he carried in the last of the groceries and started helping Stiles put things away.

Stiles nodded. "It says the Hale pack is to protect the town and preserve, and the fae protect the wellbeing of its inhabitants."

"So does the kanima, ghouls, or any of the other problems mean we did break it?"

"No. The treaty seems to note that Beacon Hills is a draw for magical creatures. As long as we're fighting the bad ones, we're holding up our end of the bargain." Stiles snagged the chicken broth out of Derek's hands before he could put it away. "I need that for dinner."

Derek handed it over before returning to the bags. "What's your theory, then?"

Stiles rummaged for specific vegetables—he was making chicken soup—as he answered. "Now that some of the craziness has settled, I think the fae noticed that no one is getting along. We aren't a cohesive pack. I suspect the de-aging is a tool they're using to heal the emotional issues in the pack."

He smiled when Derek handed over the chicken and a garlic bulb without asking. "There's a note about a symbol you need to paint on a specific tree outside the house. That will signal a request for a meeting."

"And it will be a peaceful meeting?" asked the Alpha.

"Yes. I'm not sure how the miscommunication happened before those four were de-aged, but there seems to be an example of the same method used in the past. Either way, I think it'd help if you and I knew the length of the spell and if there is anything the fae have noticed that we haven't."

"Good plan." Derek set the empty bags under the sink while Stiles pulled out pots and pans. "Your dad should be here with the boys in about an hour. Can I help with dinner?"

Stiles nodded. "I could use a sous chef."

Derek twirled a chopping knife in his hand. "At your service."

* * *

**I really hope I'm not singling any one pack member out as worse than the others. I'm trying to show that everyone has valid reasons for not getting along and that they're being ridiculous. So yeah if it seems like I'm bashing on one person more than others, feel free to call me out.**

**Anywho. I know a few of you commented on different romances so I wanted to kind of clarify really quickly (though some of this will show up later). Stiles/Derek are in a good friendship place and will start moving to a romantic stage in the next chapter. It took me all of about five seconds to decide from the very first chapter that I didn't want to be angsty with those two. And I figure with Scott & Peter as kids, neither Derek nor Stiles would have to get a guilt trip about liking the other.**

**Other romantic headcanon for this story. Boyd/Erica are together. Lydia/Jackson are together. Scott/Allison are together. Scott and Isaac are instant best friends as kids because both teens want to be friends but have trust issues. Scott is very complimentary and blunt as a child, hence his declaring Boyd to be quite pretty. (Also because I think Sinqua is fucking gorgeous and does not get enough attention). Danny is a werewolf in this story (a last minute decision for simplicity) but hasn't been around much. He and Isaac were unknowingly crushing on each other at school, but now Danny has to deal with realizing that Isaac shares those feelings and can't do anything about it right now. **  
**Peter and Chris are obviously my major angst part of this story, with a lot more details to come out about them. If you've read some of my other stories, you can probably guess some bits that will come up, since my headcanon stays the same for these two in a lot of different stories. **  
**Some of all this will come to light during the individual chapters but hopefully this gives you all an idea of where I'm going with each.**

**For those who like previews, the next chapter will have some Sterek (inspiring a ratings change), Stilinski feels, and bedtime antics with the kids.**


	6. Chapter 6

**Ugh. I have been super sick all week and stuck in bed so I haven't written hardly anything. But I'm finally feeling better so while I work on a much longer (and very plotty) update, have a little bit of Sterek flirting.**

* * *

Stiles almost didn't recognize the Derek he was sharing a kitchen with.

Scratch that. He definitely didn't recognize him. But he liked him a lot.

Stiles had lasted all of three minutes before insisting on turning music on with his phone. He was a good cook, though not a chef, but he'd never been able to get away from having tunes while cooking. Once upon a time he'd read, or heard, that cooking and baking were therapeutic. Stiles always thought that when you added a soundtrack, that became very true.

He had a penchant for electronic dance music—Calvin Harris, Dead Mau5, and the like—or Disney songs when making breakfast, mostly because breakfast was a happy meal in his opinion.

Baking deserved country or jazz most of the time. It was a way to either deal with pain, or create something out of love, and no two genres understood those feelings more.

But general cooking? That opened itself up to any type of music possible. And Stiles was considerate enough to ask Derek his thoughts. "Music preference?"

"What are my choices?" asked Derek.

Stiles smiled, appreciating that Derek didn't just choose without considering Stiles' thoughts. "Um 90s pop, goth-Americana, or Dropkick Murphys."

Derek turned from where he'd been setting out a cutting board and chopping knife. "Those are very different styles of music."

Stiles shrugged. "I like options."

"90s pop," said Derek with a grin. "But more Third Eye Blind, less N'Sync."

"You don't love the boy bands?" joked Stiles in mock horror.

"Not after Laura played them so often that I still have every lyric memorized without even trying," returned Derek.

"Fair point." Stiles turned away to turn on the playlist and smiled to himself. It was rare that Derek smiled, let alone was genuinely happy, and Stiles liked being around to experience the moments it happened. That Derek was able to reference the past without breaking down was another good sign.

For a while, they worked silently, at their individual tasks. Stiles sang & danced to a few songs, and he was fairly certain Derek was humming along to a couple as well. He sautéed several chicken breasts in garlic and oil for a little flavor, while also bringing a broth infused with leeks and garlic to a simmer.

In working to keep his dad healthy, Stiles had learned that the more natural flavors he added to a dish, the less his dad would reach for the salt.

Derek kept busy chopping up the vegetables that would go in the soup, creating little piles that would be ready for Stiles when he needed them. Once that was done, he moved on to cutting up apples for a side dish.

Stiles added the chicken to his broth and turned towards Derek to gather the vegetables up. What he saw made him stop singing abruptly. "Dude!"

"What?" asked Derek, giving him a worried look.

Stiles just reached a hand out towards Derek's handiwork. "How did you do that?" Derek had turned each apple into a swan. It looked like something out of a fancy cooking show.

Derek looked almost embarrassed. "It's nothing. Just a trick I picked up in New York."

Stiles glanced down at the vegetables he was putting in the broth as Derek spoke, noting that the cut was uniform and professional. "Were you a chef?" he asked, voice slightly in awe.

"Just a sous chef," answered Derek. "I was training to do more, even went to culinary school, but I hadn't worked my way up far enough to go beyond that."

"Why the hell am I cooking?" Stiles gaped a little at Derek and tried not to feel horribly inadequate about his own cooking. The guy was trained for pete's sake. Stiles also found the idea really hot, but he figured maybe adding arousal to the things Derek could scent right now was pushing it.

Derek dropped the last of the celery into the pot and waited for Stiles to stir the food, then turn the heat down so the soup could cook before answering. "Because you're good at it. Besides, I know fancy and ridiculous dishes like rack of lamb or risotto. I'm not great at cooking for a bunch of hungry werewolves. You're good at feeding a lot of people and you should be proud of that."

Stiles blushed a little bit. "Oh. But still! You're a freaking chef." He was quiet for a second, not sure what to say next. Derek seemed to get that Stiles was still processing though, because he just waited. "Do you think you'd ever go back to it?" was what Stiles finally came up with.

"I don't think so," replied Derek. "At least not professionally."

He took a step closer to Stiles, boxing the teen in against the counter. They were technically the same height but the way Stiles was slouched forced him to look up at Derek. The Alpha stared at Stiles' for a long moment before coming to a decision. "But maybe once this mess is over and things quiet down, I'd cook for you."

Stiles' gaze locked with Derek's. He wanted to ask what exactly the werewolf meant by that, if he meant what Stiles wanted him to, that it'd be just the two of them. Even more, Stiles wanted to know that it wasn't just being able to trust each other and a sense of camaraderie that brought on the offer. He wanted, needed, to know if Derek felt the same way. There'd been a pull on Stiles for months now, but until this moment, he'd thought it was one sided.

In the moment that he stood watching Derek though, Stiles got the answer to all those questions and more. Derek's eyes didn't waver as he stared back at Stiles, waiting and almost pleading for Stiles to sense what he was offering.

"I'd like that," said Stiles softly, eyes flickering down to Derek's lips and back up again.

"Yeah?" breathed Derek. He was mere inches away from Stiles' now and moving the slightest bit closer.

Stiles leaned forward just as the front door slammed open. Both human and werewolf jumped as the sounds of running feet came down the hall.

"Tiles! Tiles!" could be heard from Peter.

Derek moved away with a rueful smile and Stiles barely held back from reaching out to say to hell with it and tug Derek back to him. Derek turned back just before the new arrivals reached the kitchen and leaned in close to Stiles' ear. "I'm not done with you," he whispered.

Stiles shivered happily and smiled back before moving to greet the excited werewolf cub who was barreling around the corner.


	7. Chapter 7

Peter practically jumped on top of Stiles when he came into the kitchen. Stiles scooped him up with a laugh. "Did Dad give you sugar while shopping?"

"We had ice cream!" Peter grinned gleefully at Stiles and nuzzled the teen's neck.

"Of course you did." Stiles gave his dad a harsh look. "And did the Sheriff eat ice cream too?"

Peter's eyes went wide and he shook his head in an exaggerated motion. At John's side, Chris slapped a tiny hand over his own mouth.

"Did he tell you not to tell me?"

Peter looked horribly conflicted before he leaned into whisper in Stiles' ear. "He gave us dep-puty stickers. Dep-puties can't tell."

Derek burst into laughter behind the counter.

Chris held up a finger and shushed Peter. "You can't say. 'S confi—confiden—confidental."

Stiles rubbed his nose against Peter's hair. "Well I'd say you two make very good deputies then. I'll just have to interrogate the sheriff on his own."

"Is he in trouble?" asked Chris, arms folded in front of him as he moved to stand in front of the Sheriff.

Stiles nodded solemnly. "I'm afraid so. Only people aged six are allowed ice cream before dinner. Is he six?"

Chris and Peter shook their heads in unison.

"What should his punishment be then?" Stiles let Peter slide down to the floor and he gave very serious looks to both boys. "You're the deputies, you decide." He conveniently ignored Derek's snorts from behind him and his dad's over exaggerated eye rolls.

Peter walked over to Chris and whispered in his ear. Chris shook his head furiously. Peter whispered again and Chris nodded.

They turned back to Stiles. "No bacon for a week," suggested Peter.

John gave a gasp of not all that fake horror. "No bacon?!"

"Why do you say that?" asked Stiles, trying not to laugh.

Chris leaned in conspiratorially. "He ate seven pieces at breakfast."

"Well then I think that is an excellent punishment," agreed Stiles. "Now how about you two munchkins go wash your hands so we can eat? Don't forget to use soap."

Peter tugged on Chris's sleeve until the boy grabbed his hand and followed him out the room. As soon as they were gone, Stiles collapsed on the floor in peals of laughter.

"Really Stiles?" John nudged him in the ribs. "Making them take away my bacon?"

Stiles pulled himself off the ground but kept snickering. "That was priceless."

John rolled his eyes. "You're ridiculous."

"I'm inclined to agree," said Derek, grabbing dishes out of the counter. He started setting the table, placing an apple swan at each place along with a leftover biscuit from the morning. John dished soup up into bowls, putting smaller amounts in for the boys. He added a sixth place setting and Derek looked at him with a questioning gaze.

"Allison," answered John. "She's on her way."

Having finally recovered, Stiles moved to help. "How did you end up with Chris anyway?"

John shrugged. "We met at the store when Allison was picking up kids clothes for him. Peter nearly threw a fit when we tried to separate them to leave and Chris started crying. So I took both of them to the station for a couple hours before we came here."

"Huh," observed Stiles. He thought about saying more but the sound of a knock on the door made him think better of it. His theory on those two, and some of the other quickly developed relationships between the pack members and the kids, was something better discussed with just Derek until they got some answers from the local fae.

John went to get the door and Stiles leaned in close to Derek. "You gonna be okay with her here?"

Derek nodded automatically but stopped when Stiles gave him a discerning look. "She's trying. I can try too. And you're here."

"I don't know how much that helps," joked Stiles.

Derek put a hand on his shoulder. "It helps," he said, his eyes emphasizing the sentiment. Derek stepped away as Allison and John came back around the corner. He was pretty sure the Sheriff didn't miss much of what was going on between the two of them and that he was okay with it but Derek didn't really want to risk John insisting that Stiles sleep at home.

Allison stepped in hesitantly, a container in her hands. "Thanks for letting us stay, Derek," she said quietly.

"It was the right thing to do," offered Derek.

Stiles swooped over to peek into the container. "Cupcakes!" he squealed.

"I didn't want to come to dinner empty handed."

"You are the best," gushed Stiles. "My cupcakes always turn out terrible."

"That's true," confirmed John.

Stiles shot him a dirty look and John just raised his hands as if to say 'hey, I only speak the truth.'

"We're having chicken soup," said Stiles, pulling Allison into the kitchen, "Which I know is nothing fancy but I promise it's good."

Derek took the cupcakes away from her, holding them out of Stiles' reach with a grin and the tension in Allison's shoulders eased up.

Stiles got Peter and Chris situated when they came back to the kitchen and everyone dug in heartily.

"How's Melissa doing with Scott and Isaac?" asked Derek of John.

"Good. Boyd and Erica went over there once Melissa left for work. Apparently Isaac and Erica were having dance parties while Scott tried to jump from the floor onto Boyd's shoulders all day."

"Seriously?" laughed Allison.

John grinned in response. "Scott goes back and forth on whether Boyd or Derek is his favorite. Because on the one hand, Wolverine, but on the other, Boyd is sooo p'ity."

Allison and Stiles busted into laughter. "Oh I'd pay good money to see that," laughed Stiles.

"Is Isaac still asking about Danny?" asked Derek.

John nodded. "Pardon the expression but that boy is mooning all over the place for Danny. It's the cutest thing. Though Scott's puppy dog eyes when he asks about the p'incess are a close second."

Stiles grinned. "P'incess," he repeated, wagging his eyebrows at Allison. "That's adorable."

"And this is why I refuse to babysit those two," returned Allison. "It's bad enough my dad is a kid, I can't add on dealing with my boyfriend as a toddler." She glared sharply at Derek. "Don't say it."

Derek held up his hands in surrender. "You're the one making the implication."

Stiles and John snickered while Peter and Chris looked on in bewilderment.

Chris leaned in towards Peter. "I like you best."

Peter had a happy grin on his face. "I like you best too."

The adults smiled at the kids before resuming the meal. John and Stiles helped carry the conversation, both sensing that the situation was still difficult for Derek and Allison. Peter and Chris seemed content to talk to each other the entire time.

Eventually, the dishes were cleared and the Sheriff left. Derek helped Allison set up the couch with extra blankets while Stiles got the boys ready for bed in Peter's room.

When Derek came back upstairs, Stiles was tugging a sheet over the air mattress.

"I can sleep there," said Derek. "You take the bed."

"I'm not going to kick you out of your own bed, Derek."

"But my back won't hurt like yours will if you sleep on that thing."

Stiles grimaced at the idea. He'd dealt with the sore muscles the last full moon that he'd been over and had slept there after vacating the puppy pile. For a second, he wished it wasn't just the pull of the moon on the wolves that made the puppy pile bit work and that it happened more often. "I'm fine," he said in answer to Derek, knowing the werewolf would catch him in the lie but refusing to budge.

"Liar," returned Derek. He slipped off his jeans and t-shirt, getting into the bed wearing just his boxers.

Stiles refused to look at the way Derek's muscles moved as he slid into bed. Well, he refused to look as long as he wanted to.

"I can share," offered Derek hesitantly.

For a moment Stiles weighed the offer before deciding to go for it. "Okay." He stood from the air mattress and Derek gave his long limbs an appreciative glance as Stiles joined him.

Stiles hesitated for a minute, staying on the far side of the bed. Then he gave a little huff and tucked his head against Derek's shoulders, wrapping one arm around the werewolf's waist. "Is this okay?" he asked, voice muffled slightly.

Derek answered by tangling his legs with Stiles' legs and kissing the top of Stiles' head. "Perfect."

It didn't take long for Stiles to fall asleep. Derek had just about followed when he heard Allison's heartbeat accelerate downstairs.

_This bit's from Allison's perspective._

Allison heard the sound of footsteps stop in the doorway. Whoever it was seemed hesitant, not sure how to approach her. That at least answered the question of who. "Derek?"

He moved into her eye line. "Your heartbeat was raised. You seem…agitated."

Allison shrugged. "That's one way of putting it."

"If you—if you want to talk—I just," Derek hesitated.

"I don't," she replied. "And yet I do. I don't really know what I want." Allison looked up to see Derek still hovering.

The problem was that she did want to talk but didn't know where to start. With the fact that every woman in her family made terrible decisions and that she was clearly easy to manipulate so why they were allowed to be leaders was beyond her? Or the way for every horrible thing the women did, the men were just as bad?

There was the fact that her dad was now a six year old who expected someone to hug him and care about him and that was just too weird for Allison. Especially since she didn't really like her dad right now.

Or that she was somehow trusting Derek enough to stay at the Hale house, beyond that the way Derek was trusting her enough to let her stay, to willingly reach out and help with a man who was suddenly all too easy to kill.

Did she bring up the way she hated herself for what she'd done to Isaac, Boyd, and Erica, but she didn't know how to come back from it? Didn't know how to even ask for a chance to be pack. And she wanted. God did she want it. She'd give up Scott to be a part of the family Stiles and Derek were somehow creating with the pack.

"You would?" Derek interrupted her thought process.

Allison gaped at him. "Did I?"

"Uh, yeah, you said that out loud."

"Oh god."

"Stiles does it a lot too. When he's really upset, the brain to mouth filter stops working so well." Derek didn't look like he was all that upset with her words. "But does the pack really mean that much to you? You're not just here because of Scott?"

Allison nodded, not really knowing how to admit to it, but wanting to be honest anyway. "You take care of each other. I know everyone's been fighting a lot lately and we still have problems but when shit goes down, everyone steps up. That more than anything tells me that the pack cares about each other deep down."

"We just like to let the petty stuff get in the way," admitted Derek.

"You and Stiles haven't," said Allison softly.

Derek smiled, the one that Allison—and a few other pack members—had dubbed his Stiles smile. It was always small but reflective, like Derek had stopped listening to you for a second and was thinking about the vibrant human. "We used to. Somewhere along the way it stopped mattering."

Allison reached out a hand towards Derek. "You two are good together. As pack mates. And more if you ever decided to take it there."

"Thank you." He paused, watching her, then inclined his head to ask for permission to sit by her. At Allison's nod, Derek slid onto the couch, not encroaching on her space but not creating an obvious distance either. "If you want to be pack, we can work on that."

Allison's eyes brightened. "Really?"

"I'm not saying it will be easy," he warned. "There's a lot of animosity towards you and it's well deserved."

"I know."

"But I'm willing to let you earn your place. On your own merit, not as Scott's girlfriend." Derek was using the softer version of his Alpha voice, the one that said he'd make sure the others fell in line. "Stiles earned his, you'll get the same chance."

Allison was quiet for another few minutes. She wanted to say thank you, to promise that she'd do well. And she would. There was just one thing, one thing that Allison worried would make Derek take everything back. But she couldn't ignore it. Not now that her long suspicions seemed to have more merit.

"Derek. I think there's something you should know about Kate."

Derek stilled next to her but when he didn't leave, Allison pressed onward. "When she was trying to make me a hunter like her but not really telling me anything, there were a couple comments she made. I didn't really think about them, but I remembered, and what Stiles said brought them up again."

"Allison," breathed Derek, not knowing what else to say.

"She said she was a good little soldier, always doing what she was told," said Allison hurriedly and in a voice that didn't really sound like hers. "And when she knew about Scott and led me down to the basement where you were, she said someday I might have to learn the hard way that there were repercussions to fraternizing with the enemy."

Allison's eyes filled with tears. She knew now what Kate was saying. Or at least was 90% sure, only Chris and Peter as adults could verify it, but it didn't change what her family did. "I saw how she treated you and there was this one day that Stiles came over and ripped my dad a new one about the depths our family would go, and I put the pieces together."

Derek's claws were digging into the seat cushion next to them.

"I think you deserve to know the whole story," choked out Allison. "And when this is over, you and Peter really need to talk."

"I won't blame my uncle," growled Derek and Allison could hear the tears behind the noise.

She tentatively placed a hand over his. "I wouldn't expect you to. But maybe you could find a way to share the guilt you deserve, and let go of what you don't. You didn't start this. But we could finish it."

Derek breathed heavily. Allison felt his hand shift under hers, the claws disappearing as he regained control. He stood up a few seconds later, making his way out of the room. At the doorway he turned back. "Allison. I…"

She inclined her head towards him, understanding exactly what he didn't know how to say.

For now, it was enough.

Stiles woke up to find himself pressed against Derek's back, the werewolf curled up against him. Stiles smiled, the big spoon wasn't the position he thought he'd be in. He stayed there for a minute, nuzzling his nose at the back of Derek's neck, and thinking once again how odd it was that he and Derek could be so comfortable with each other.

It was when Derek shifted slightly that Stiles realized he also sporting some serious morning wood that was currently digging into Derek's leg.

Stiles started to move away. Cuddling was one thing, but considering Derek had only indicated at feelings last night and they hadn't even kissed, Stiles figured they weren't really at a morning sex stage. Though he certainly wished they were.

But when Stiles moved, a few things happened. First, his hand brushed downward as he rolled away, discovering that Derek was just as hard as he was. Second, Derek moved his hips back against Stiles' erection, causing Stiles to barely muffle a moan. It was the third thing that changed Stiles' mind.

Derek whispered his name in a low voice, full of pleading and want, and there was absolutely nothing left of Stiles' willpower.

He rolled his hips up against Derek, pressing his lips to the werewolf's bare shoulder at the same time in a wet kiss.

Derek hummed appreciatively and pushed back again, helping Stiles gain friction. Stiles rutted against him once more before stilling Derek's hips with one hand.

"Stiles," protested Derek sleepily.

"I've got you," he mumbled, kissing along Derek's neck again. Stiles slipped his hand over Derek's hip, lingering for a moment over the firm muscles, before he inched his fingers past the waistband of Derek's boxers.

His long fingers brushed lightly down the length of Derek's cock and the werewolf moaned as he thrust his hips forward.

Stiles wrapped his hand around Derek and stroked him in long, slow movements, relishing in Derek's choked noises and moans.

It took only a few minutes before Derek was coming in Stiles' hand, breath hot and ragged.

"Stiles," he whimpered, rolling over to kiss Stiles.

He kissed back, thrusting up against Derek's hips for his own release as his tongue licked Derek's lips.

Derek reached a hand between them and gripped Stiles' dick, pulling firmly to bring Stiles off in a few quick gestures.

Stiles kissed Derek as he came, then rested his head back on the werewolf's chest and closed his eyes for a few more minutes of sleep.

When Derek and Stiles finally re-roused themselves, dressed, and made it downstairs, Allison was waiting with a piece of parchment and fresh coffee. "There was a message on the door this morning."

"The fae?" asked Stiles.

Allison nodded. "I didn't read it but I thought you'd want to know first thing."

Derek thanked her and sat down to read it while Stiles poured them both cups of coffee.

"It apologizes first, saying they didn't mean for the de-aging to be such a surprise, and that a representative will happily meet us on the north end of the preserve to clear up the matter and answer any questions as soon as we can get there," paraphrased Derek.

"That sounds good," began Stiles.

"It is," Derek assured him. "There's no standard loophole language. If sounds like there was inadvertent miscommunication on their end and they want to rectify the situation."

"I'll take care of the boys," offered Allison. "You two can go get some answers."

Stiles glanced at her. "You sure?"

She nodded. "Definitely. We need to know what's going on, even if it isn't intended maliciously."

Derek voiced his agreement and soon after, they headed out in Stiles' jeep.

Any remaining fears were quickly assuaged when they reached the meeting spot. A young man and slightly older woman stood waiting for them, though Stiles was sure they were using glamours to appear more approachable.

"Alpha Hale," said the woman, stepping forward as Derek exited the jeep. "Our apologies. May we explain the situation and then answer any remaining questions?"

Derek bowed his head in greeting. "That would be most appreciated," he answered formally.

Stiles stood just behind Derek and to his right, much as the male faerie did the same.

"We were neglectful in our observations of your new pack," she began. "The resourcefulness of your mate led us to believe you had more information at your disposal than the reality."

Stiles gave Derek a sharp look at the term mate but held his tongue. They could discuss that little piece of information, and exactly what the word meant once this was over.

The faerie continued as though Stiles hadn't moved. "Our clan has long used the de-aging spell as a way to bring harmony and end dissention. But it has been several generations since the spell was necessary for a Hale pack. We were remiss in assuming you were aware of this. I offer our sincerest apologies."

"The apology is accepted and no further supplication is needed," Derek responded. "However, we do have a few questions. If we may?"

She nodded.

"Are there any dangers to the spell?" was his first question.

"No. It will last for a total of fourteen days. The members of your pack who were turned into the younger versions of themselves will remember the time as children."

"Why a de-aging spell?"

"We've found it achieves the best results. Children trust implicitly and adults react without bias to a child's needs," she explained. "Your pack has been fighting and distrustful of each other, with good reason in many instances. But there are still clear underlying desires to be a close-knit pack, evidenced by the gatherings on full moons, the need for contact when sleeping, and the willingness to work together in times of trouble."

Stiles interrupted. "So it's the grudges that are stopping everyone from bonding? Justified though it may be, it sounds like you're saying the individual circumstances are keeping us from trying to be a pack, which is what we all want deep down?"

The faerie smiled at him. It wasn't the most cheerful of expressions and Stiles sincerely hoped she didn't make a habit of the gesture. "Precisely. For example, the boy Scott idolizes Alpha Hale and is envious of his oneness with his wolf. But you both started out on the wrong foot and those initial fights have driven a wedge between you."

She looked to Derek. "You called Scott McCall your brother once, though you've yet to treat him as such. That's all he wants. Someone to rely on, to trust in. The younger version doesn't have any of the hurt or grievances built up against Derek. This version of Scott sees a hero and seeks to emulate him. As a result, Derek, you don't push him away but rather enjoy teaching him."

"Why Isaac?" asked Stiles.

At the same time, Derek questioned the addition of Chris.

"Isaac is easy," said the male faerie. "He loves unconditionally, but he doesn't believe his feelings are ever reciprocated. The child is able to bring the others together, and he works well as a foil for Scott."

Stiles thought he understood that. "So it's less about Isaac needing to be a child and more about us learning from him?"

"Indeed."

"As to Chris," stated the female sternly, "there has always been a bonded Hale and Argent in each generation. Gerard and Katherine Argent fought to end that bond, but we do not let such things go easily. The bond needed to be reawakened, and felt by both Christopher and Peter, without the memories and guilt of the past to taint it."

"But those memories will return once the spell ends," noted Derek.

"They will," she acknowledged. "However the love they once shared will also be clearer than it has been in many years, giving them a reason to work through the heartache. Peter will need your help as well."

Stiles slipped his hand into Derek's. "We'll both help heal the wounds in our pack."

"Very well. We'll keep an eye out in case of any ensuing threats, but you should have no problems while the spell is in place."

"Thank you," said Derek.

The fae nodded as one at Derek and Stiles before disappearing abruptly.

"Am I the only one who found that both helpful and worrisome?" asked Stiles.

Derek shook his head. "I get the decision and I can see where bonds are forming amongst the pack right now. But we're going to have our work cut out for us once the spell ends."

"That's what I thought." Stiles sighed and hopped back into the jeep, leaning over to open the door for Derek. "We'll cross that bridge when we get there I guess. On the way back though, you can explain what she meant by mate."

Derek blushed but agreed. "It started the day I asked you to cut off my arm…"


	8. Chapter 8

"That long ago?!" yelped Stiles. He liked Derek a lot and sure maybe every once in a while he thought about how there was the possibility of more than that. But his feelings were a lot more recent. Other than the occasional, 'yeah he's hot', Stiles' feelings started around the time of fighting the alpha pack.

"No!" said Derek hurriedly. "Or yes, but I didn't know what it was. You kept telling Scott it would be easier to let me die that day and I didn't really think anything of it. But then when I did pass out from the wolfsbane, you freaked out about how I wasn't allowed to die. Something in me realized you did care, even if it was only a tiny bit."

Stiles pondered that for a minute. "Yeah I think that was when I realized I was never going to be on the hunters' side. At least not without bias."

"Then there were other things," continued Derek. "You hiding me from the cops, risking your life against Peter, then against the kanima. For a while it was just trust, I trusted you and it scared me because I don't trust anyone. And then after the alphas attacked you, I realized I couldn't lose you. That it would hurt more if you were gone than any of the others."

"Is that why you started coming over more? Why you were listening to me?" asked Stiles.

Derek nodded. "I wasn't sure exactly what I felt, but it didn't seem fair to ignore you while I figured it out."

"So when did you know we were mates?" They were almost back to the house, just turning onto the dirt road leading through the woods, but Stiles wanted answers to at least that much. "And I'm not jumping in to say what I want or am agreeing to in any way. I just want to hear your perspective."

"It's not like…mates aren't really a special thing." At Stiles' frown, Derek quickly corrected. "I mean they are, but not in like a weird mystical way. Mates is like the human equivalent of a serious and committed relationship. But my actions as a werewolf show up differently than a human one so other supernatural beings can sense my feelings about us."

"Like?"

"Like protecting you. Taking your advice. Getting you to wear my clothes instead of insisting you keep a spare change of clothes around for training days. Even before last night, I knew what I felt for you and I showed that in ways I was allowed to at the time." Derek looked a little nervous, unsure how Stiles would respond.

Stiles was fairly quick to reassure him. "So dating and being out in public and things like me holding your hand would be my way of establishing the mate concept to humans? Typical boyfriend stuff?"

"Yes," answered Derek. "But there is a bond that can happen later, I guess it would be most similar to marriage, if that concept still meant something. A lot of supernatural couples never go through with it. Some do. And on rare occasions, the bond forms naturally, without either party contributing. I think Peter and Chris might have that one."

"Why not go through with it?"

"There are dangers. It paints a clear target for enemies and it's a lot harder to move on if one partner dies."

Stiles pulled the jeep off to the side in front of the Hale house and turned the car off, sitting quietly for a while. "Do you want the bond?"

Derek chose to be honest. "I don't know yet. Some days I do. But most of the time, I'm nowhere near ready."

"Can I call you my boyfriend?" Stiles' question is hesitant. If he's honest with himself, he and Derek have been doing date type stuff for a while now, even if under the pretense of it being pack stuff. And as much as Stiles thinks labels don't accurately define relationships, he still likes them.

Derek leaned across the gear shift and kissed the corner of Stiles' mouth. "I'd like that."

Stiles smiled at Derek.

"Oh my god, we get it you're both adorable and I'm so happy for you. Are we done with this part?" Erica leaned against Stiles' window, startling both men.

"What the hell, Reyes?" Stiles jumped and even Derek's eyes widened in surprise.

Erica rolled her eyes. "We need your help. The munchkins are climbing the walls."

Derek groaned. "I told you not to give them sugar. But you can just tell them to stop rough housing."

"I didn't give anyone sugar. I'm not insane. But they are literally climbing the walls," returned Erica. "Scott keeps insisting his claws make him like Spiderman. Isaac is trying to hang from the ceiling lights. Chris has recruited Peter into using kitchen knives to turn the den wall into a rock climbing wall of sorts."

Stiles and Derek both gaped at her. "What?" asked Stiles finally.

"Just get in here," snapped Erica, turning on her heels and walking back into the house.

Derek and Stiles both scrambled out of the vehicle. "This I gotta see," said Stiles.

To say Erica was exhausted was putting it mildly. The morning had been interesting to say the least.

It all started when she and Boyd knocked on the front door of the Hale house and Allison answered.

"Oh!" said Erica, startled. She'd heard Allison accept Derek's invitation to stay, but somehow she'd been expecting Stiles to answer and Allison to be…somewhere else. "Uh, we came over to offer to help Derek & Stiles with their two charges."

Allison gave them a half-smile, one that seemed to say she was expecting different people too. "They went to talk to the fae. There was a message this morning. I'm on kid duty instead."

Erica noticed that Allison wasn't pushing them away, but she still seemed hesitant.

While they all stood there awkwardly, Scott came running up and tugged on Allison's shirt. "Alli, Alli, come pway! We need a pwincess."

Allison ruffled her hand through Scott's hair and bent down to speak to him, turning her back slightly to the older werewolves. The vulnerability surprised Erica. "I'll be right back, Scott, I promise. I just need to talk to Erica and Boyd for a minute."

Scott's eyes flickered to the pair in the doorway. "Cwis needs a pwincess too," he said deviously, looking at Erica's curls. "Or a pwince," he added, turning towards Boyd.

"A prince, huh?" questioned Allison.

Scott stage whispered into her ear, cupping one hand around his mouth. "I tink he likes pwinces better. He keeps kissing Peter's hand."

Erica hid a grin behind one hand and elbowed Boyd when she felt him start to laugh beside her. "Boyd would love to be a prince," she said with a smirk. "If that's okay with the princess?" It wasn't that she wanted to ask Allison's permission to do anything but Erica did want to be respectful. If her Alpha could make an effort, so could she.

Allison's face melted into an expression of relief. "That would be amazing. Scott, can you show Boyd where the prince's tower is?" She leaned in and actually whispered to them. "We're all together but he seems to like being able to be the leader."

Scott nodded with adorably ferocious determination, grabbing Boyd's hand and tugging him along. "Peter!" he yelled as he went, "We have a pwince! You fight with Cwis now!"

Allison moved aside to let Erica in as well. "I appreciate this. So much. Melissa had to work and I didn't want to tell her it was just me and trying to watch three werewolves and the miniature version of my dad for the last hour has been exhausting."

"Its fine," said Erica. She tried to give a smile with her words but she was still nervous about being there without Derek or Stiles as a buffer between them and Allison. Erica could tell that Allison was being sincere though, so she tried to push most of her distrust aside for the time being.

For the first half hour or so, things seemed to be going okay. Peter and Isaac were picked as the dragons protecting their prisoners and Scott and Chris had to defeat them to rescue the two princesses & one prince. Allison stayed on one side of the room while Boyd and Erica took the other.

Scott came in victorious after yet another battle against Isaac. "I wescued you!" He said, beaming.

"You did indeed. Well done." Boyd smiled at the little werewolf. "You'll be a knight in no time."

Erica gave a little laugh under her breath. "The only time he'll ever need to rescue Allison. Least likely damsel I've ever met." She meant it as a compliment of sorts, even if saying it surprised her.

Allison didn't get upset or misread it though. She reached out and gave Erica's arm a light squeeze. "Well, swooning over a man is just so last century. All the best girls save the princes."

Erica laughed and smiled back.

Something in the tension of the room—and the last several months—finally disappeared. For the first time, Erica realized that the three of them would someday be okay. Maybe even better than they'd ever been.

The peace is ruined—not by Allison—fifteen minutes later, when the three teens realize there haven't been any noises from their "knights" in a while.

"It's really quiet," said Allison.

"That can't be good," input Boyd.

Erica led the way down the stairs. That was where they found the kids jumping off the couch and launching themselves at the wall.

Boyd gave up on Peter and Chris when the pair tried to stab him with knives so they could climb him instead of the walls.

Allison collapsed with the other two on the couch in fits of laughter, all three deciding the toddlers were a lost cause. It was when they heard Stiles' jeep that Erica ran outside with a throwaway explanation.

"Holy shit," said Stiles when he walked into the house. Erica wasn't kidding about the kitchen knives. An easy dozen were jammed into the kitchen wall from what he could see. Chris was hanging from one hand off one about six inches from the ceiling. Peter was crouched on the counter, watching him, claws out.

"Derek!" yelled Stiles.

Derek jumped through the room and grabbed Peter in midair when the werewolf launched himself at Chris. "Oh hell no," muttered Derek.

"No fun!" pouted Peter as Chris taunted him from his perch.

Chris joined the pouting when Derek reached another arm up and tugged the human off the wall. "There will be no more sticking knives in the wall. Or jumping on things."

Stiles scooped Isaac off Scott and let Scott crawl up on Boyd's shoulders, declaring himself victorious. "You two are just as ridiculous."

"I'm Spiderman," said Scott. "He climbs walls."

"So I noticed," said Stiles. He sat down with Isaac—who hugged him tightly—next to Allison. Derek walked into the room a second later.

The alpha sat in an over-sized chair and pulled Peter and Chris into his lap. The six year olds sat on his legs and tilted their heads together, whispering and giggling to each other.

Derek and Stiles registered at the same time that Allison was next to Boyd and that Erica was sprawled across both of them.

"Explain," said Derek with a raise of his eyebrows.

"We came over to help you and Stiles babysit," said Erica simply. "You weren't here so we stayed to help Allison. The four of them are insane."

"Yup," agreed Allison.

Erica smirked. "And now that you two are back, Boyd can help you do training drills to work off some of this energy. Allison and I are going shopping."

Allison looked confused. "We are?"

Erica nodded. "Lydia made me agree yesterday. I need a buffer."

Derek wisely chose not to argue with the pair leaving, happy that for once they were getting along.


	9. Chapter 9

"This is exhausting," moaned Stiles to Derek when they collapsed into bed two nights later. Somehow the idea of sleeping together hadn't even been a question after the little ones were put to sleep.

No one in the pack—or even his dad, surprisingly enough—had found it odd that Stiles was there either. If anything, the impression Stiles got was that everyone thought it was already happening.

"How tired are you?" asked Derek.

Stiles looked down at Derek; the alpha's face was tilted up towards him from where it rested on Stiles' chest. "Pretty tired. Why?"

Derek pressed a kiss to Stiles' chest and licked a broad stripe over his nipple. "I guess no reason now," he teased.

Stiles found some more energy in a hurry. "I'm suddenly not feeling so tired anymore." He squirmed a little under Derek's touch.

"Oh is that so?" Derek started working his way down Stiles' torso, nipping lightly whenever Stiles' moved too much underneath him.

It was perfect. Stiles was in heaven. So of course, that was when a tiny voice came from the doorway. "Tiles? I'm scared."

Derek let out a low growl of frustration at the appearance of Peter. Stiles smacked him in the shoulder. "Don't be an ass," he hissed before turning to the little werewolf. "What's wrong, Peter?"

Peter hovered in the doorway, sensing that Derek wasn't happy. "I had a bad dream," he said quietly. His hand was clenched around one of Chris' t-shirts and as soon as Peter said the words, he stuck two fingers in his mouth like he was sucking his thumb.

Stiles sat up in bed, checked that all faculties were appropriate, and beckoned to Peter. "C'mere then. You can sleep in here for a little bit."

The little werewolf looked hesitantly at Derek but made his way towards Stiles.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

Peter shivered and Stiles pulled him into his arms, stroking his hair.. "There was a fire and I couldn't get out and Chris was outside and safe but he couldn't save me and it hurt, 'Tiles, it hurt weally bad."

Derek made a choking sound but he managed to reach over and rub Peter's arm. "You're okay now," he whispered.

"That's right," said Stiles. "You're okay. No one can hurt you anymore, Peter. We're gonna take care of each other."

Peter huddled closer to Stiles and just barely nodded. "Pwomise?"

Stiles hugged him tighter. "Promise."

The boy was just drifting back to sleep—which meant Stiles could take him back to the other room—when Chris walked in, rubbing his eyes, and crawled up onto the bed, over Stiles' stretched out legs, and into Derek's lap.

Derek froze for a second because well, even at six years old, an Argent in his personal space is a weird occurrence and there's been a lot of those over the best few days. As much as Peter has latched onto Stiles, Chris has attached himself to Derek. Stiles suspected that this is partly because Chris prefers to be close to Peter. After a moment, Derek let Chris snuggle against him. Chris' hand reached out for Peter's as he went back to sleep. The alpha turned to give Stiles a rueful smile. "Guess we need a rain check."

Stiles gave his best attempt at a shrug with a werewolf in his arms. "We've only got ten more days of this. Better than most parents."

It wasn't fair the way the idea of kids made Derek's heart ache. So he opted to lean over and press a kiss to Stiles' cheek. "Think the other two will end up in here too?"

Stiles wiggled back down to a sleeping position, moving his arm so Peter could sleep too. "You didn't see them this morning?"

Derek shook his head.

"Scott and Isaac have been curled over Allison's feet on the couch for the last two days. It's kind of adorable."

Derek was a little relieved that his sleep wouldn't get interrupted again. He set Chris down next to Peter—the two promptly snuggled together—and moved to the other side of the bed so he could wrap himself around Stiles.

"Good night," he whispered.

"Night."

That afternoon, Lydia and Allison were coloring pictures at the kitchen table with Peter and Chris while Danny and Boyd made cookies with the "help" of Scott and Isaac.

Erica was sitting on the edge of the counter with Jackson, having appointed themselves 'supervisors' for the afternoon. Derek and Stiles were out running much needed errands.

"Stiles is going to kill you for making such a mess," snarked Jackson at the boys.

Boyd had Scott perched on his shoulders while Danny was covered in flour after Isaac rather exuberantly turned the mixer on high.

"But we have you and Erica to clean it up," returned Danny in a completely serious voice.

"We're supervising," insisted Erica.

"And do I look like I clean?" Jackson's huff of indignation made it clear what he thought of that idea.

Boyd glared at both of them to no avail.

Danny just leaned over and rested his hand on the kitchen island. "If you don't help us, Jackson, I might be forced to tell people about the time we made Christmas cookies together in sixth grade."

Jackson jumped off the counter and yanked Erica down with him. "C'mon Reyes, we have to clean."

Erica tugged her hand away from Jackson. "Just cuz Danny has dirt on you doesn't mean I have to help."

Danny grinned. "Did you know you talk in your sleep on full moon nights?"

Erica responded by throwing a rag at Jackson and immediately turning on the water to start doing dishes.

Danny laughed and turned back to pull spoons out of a drawer so the cookies could be put on baking sheets. He set up two sheets and the bowl on one side of the counter while Boyd put both kid werewolves on stools. While the cubs worked, Danny and Boyd helped pitch in with the cleaning.

"You're doing better around him," said Erica to Danny, with a slight head tilt towards Isaac.

"She's right." Jackson turned to give his friend a puzzled look. "I don't get why you were staying away from him before anyway."

"Because he's clearly got a crush on me," answered Danny.

"So?" Erica knew that already.

Danny blushed. "Well I kind of have a thing for the teen version. Have for a while. And it sucks to know that he only has a crush when he's four years old."

Boyd and Erica burst into laughter then quickly apologized. "Sorry," snickered Boyd. "It's just, Isaac—teen Isaac—won't shut up about you ever. You have no idea how many training sessions have started because Derek was tired of hearing stories from Isaac about what Danny did today or that you asked him about the English homework or gave him a compliment on his lacrosse game."

"What?!" Danny was utterly flabbergasted.

Jackson gave him a total bros punch in the arm. With a soapy hand that made Danny wrinkle his nose in annoyance at his best friend. "Dude, everyone knows about Isaac's crush on you. He's even growing his hair out because you said you liked the curls."

"I need to sit down."

"Look, it's obviously weird right now," said Erica with a kinder smile than she'd used earlier. "But trust us on this, those feelings from Isaac are because of how the older version feels. You just have to be willing to do something about when the spell's over."

"Why me?!" Danny looked terrified.

"Because he's sure you'll say no," said Boyd like it was the most obvious thing in the world. "So you ask him, he says yes, you both preferably act like the mature couples in this pack instead of the ones who seem to think the hallway is a good place for a hand job."

Allison shot him a dirty look from the table. In less than a week, Stiles and Derek had proved to be just as bad. Besides, that day at school a month ago, she and Scott had been in a closed off area of the school and Boyd was supposed to be in biology.

Erica and Jackson laughed loudly.

Lydia nudged Allison once the others' focus was back on the cookie making and away from them. "How is it that you can joke with them so easily?"

Allison gave her a piercing look, checking that Lydia genuinely wanted to know. She spoke softly, not to try and hide their conversation but to impress upon the werewolves that this was to be as private as possible. Most of them were good at not commenting or interrupting when she did this. "It's not easy, Lydia. But they're trying and Boyd and Erica certainly have more reason to be upset with me than I do with them."

"Well that's true," muttered Lydia.

"Hey! I get that you're pissed at me too. But you can't keep making these remarks and not talking to me."

"Do you want me to start with the fact that I'm currently coloring Fox and the Hound pictures with the psycho who possessed me for several months or that you used me to get you information but couldn't be bothered to even consider that I might be in pain?" Lydia's eyes were dark and angry.

"Both." Allison's eyes snapped right back. "I want you to yell if you need to. Hit me. Tell me I was an asshole as a friend and that you didn't deserve to be pushed aside."

Lydia's mouth dropped open.

Allison's voice softened. "Lydia, you're still my best friend. I get that I was horrible and that I should have taken care of you when you needed it. But I can't fix anything if you won't let me. You are allowed to be upset."

"I'm not just a Latin translator or a traveling chemistry lab," said Lydia.

"I know."

"And I'm not a vapid girlfriend, either."

"I don't think you ever really were."

"You're not going to let the adult version hurt me anymore?"

"I promise." Low growls from Jackson and Erica backed up Allison's claim. The two werewolves quickly went back to doing dishes with a glance at each other, trying to pretend they both hadn't been listening. They really weren't trying to.

Lydia didn't seem to upset. If anything, her demeanor relaxed a little more and she let loose a half smile. "Okay."

Allison squeezed Lydia's hand. "You're sure?"

"I'm still a little mad," admitted Lydia. "But we can work on it."

"Then we'll work on it as a pack," said Allison reassuringly.

It was enough for now.

"Why are we at Ikea again?" asked Derek on day six.

"Because everyone keeps staying at the house and they can't keep sleeping on the floor," replied Stiles as he stopped in front of one bedroom display.

Derek frowned. "Too small."

"They're queen size," said Stiles.

Derek pushed him forward. "And just because we give everyone, or at least every couple, their own room, doesn't mean anyone will stay there. You know that Isaac goes to Scott's every time he has a nightmare, even before the kid thing. Eventually that'll mean Danny too."

"Yeah, which means Jackson and Lydia."

"Exactly. If you really think this is a good idea, we're getting beds big enough and sturdy enough to hold multiple werewolves."

Stiles stopped and looked directly at Derek. "You don't think it's a good idea? Look, we can just go and not worry about. I just thought…"

"Stiles," interrupted Derek. "It's a good idea. The fae didn't cast the spell because we were failing but because there is hope for the pack and we just needed a push. But I'm worried you're getting your hopes too high, too soon. The last week has been good. Really good. But when the spell is lifted, I have the feeling all of this is going to take a few giant steps backwards. I don't want you to be disappointed."

The teen was reassured by his boyfriend—or mate's—words. "I won't be. I swear, Derek, I get that we have our work cut out for us. But I feel like if we don't make the house feel like a home, like a place where the pack is supposed to be, they won't want to fight for it later. We need this." His voice grew heightened as he spoke.

Derek pulled Stiles into his arms. "Okay. Okay."

Over the next week, the pack managed to fall into a better routine than they had in months.

Jackson voluntarily handed his credit card over to Lydia to go shopping for linens and things to decorate the house with.

Danny, Isaac, Scott, and Allison tagged along, resulting in the purchase of several comic book themed sheet sets—that may have caused Stiles to look pleadingly at Derek—and an inordinate amount of pictures of seascapes. Apparently Isaac couldn't pass a poster of an ocean that he didn't love and Danny couldn't resist the four year old's begging eyes.

No one commented on the fact that it didn't matter how old Isaac was, Danny would still never win an argument.

Jackson pitched in with Boyd at the house, putting together furniture and helping to set up the rooms while Derek and Stiles watched the other two kids.

Halfway through day seven, Erica walked in with two boxes of DVDs and an HD TV. She set everything in the living room and informed the boys that this was for movie nights, starting as soon as the fae's spell lifted.

Stiles got a warm fuzzy feeling inside at the way the pack was helping each other without anyone pushing them.

They had training drills daily. Somehow having the little ones around kept even the teens on their toes, forcing them to be creative in their fighting style. Derek only let the cubs spar with each other, but just having them nearby meant the older werewolves couldn't all out brawl.

The need for efficient fighting moves was causing a vast improvement to Erica and Jackson's skills.

The humans worked on studying plant lore and runes, wanting to protect each other since they didn't have super healing.

Some days there were pack dinners, okay every day, but Derek never cared that the kitchen seemed to be a permanent disaster zone. Things were working out better than he'd ever hoped. Now all they had to do was hope the peace lasted after the spell wore off.

On the tenth day, John came by that morning and hauled all four kids off with him for a day at the park, telling Stiles and Derek that he could tell they both needed a break.

The quiet was awesome.

But the best part of the day was easily when Stiles was cleaning up dishes in the kitchen. He didn't actually mind doing dishes, even if it did make his hands all wrinkly. Plus Derek agreed to pick up all the crap lying around so Stiles thought he got the better deal.

He was singing to himself and dancing just a little bit as he worked, when he heard a low growl behind him.

"Derek? 'Sup?"

Derek's eyes were glinting red and staring at the visible stretch of skin between Stiles' sweats and the hem of his raised shirt. "Stiles," he muttered in that low voice that Stiles had learned meant only good things are about to happen.

Stiles flashed a gleeful grin. "I can totally stop doing dishes and go upstairs with you. Yep, definitely." He turned the rest of the way around and started to walk towards the door but Derek was suddenly looming in front of him.

"Uh, Derek?"

"Just…just stay there," mumbled the werewolf.

Stiles wasn't exactly opposed to making out in the kitchen, so he shrugged and reached out to pull Derek to him, closing his eyes at the same time.

It would have been a great kiss, he's quite certain of it, except his hands hit dead air. Stiles opened his eyes just as he felt hands on his hips, holding him still. "Oh," said Stiles with a squeal. "This works too."

Derek looked like he couldn't decide whether to mouth at Stiles' dick through his pants or stare at it. Stiles, for his part in this, just made sure to let Derek know he was pretty happy about the way the afternoon is going.

That seemed to decide things for Derek, who just tugged Stiles' sweats and boxers down in one smooth motion. He leaned in and swiped his tongue just over the tip, causing Stiles to shudder and barely restrain himself from bucking into Derek's mouth.

Because Derek was totally into torture, shockingly enough, he teased for a few minutes, licking in broad strokes and then quick darts, working until Stiles was fully hard.

"Derek," pleaded Stiles. "Please."

At his words, the werewolf wrapped his mouth around Stiles' cock and sucked. Hard.

Stiles didn't even try to stop himself from thrusting into Derek's mouth, it was pure impulse. He did however reach back to grab the counter and prevent from doing it again.

Derek didn't seem to have a problem with it though. His hands reached away from Stiles' hips and pulled the teen's hands over to Derek's head, letting Stiles run his fingers through the Alpha's hair. Derek kept sucking, moving his mouth back and forth, and humming in a pleased tone every time Stiles moaned above him.

It's during this process that Stiles discovered several important facts.

One: because the moments between them had been in bed or rare so far, Stiles had yet to actually see the way the werewolf looked during any form of sex.

Two: Apparently the dilated pupils, sparks of red around the edges of Derek's eyes, and the utterly blessed out expression on his face was all Stiles needed to come hard, barely getting a chance to push at Derek's shoulder in warning.

Three: Derek really liked swallowing Stiles' come, resulting in Stiles muttering a ragged, "Jesus, fuck, Derek. I'm keeping you forever."

Four: Getting Stiles off was all Derek needs because he pulled off Stiles' dick, leaned his head against Stiles' leg and came with a shudder.

Stiles slid boneless down the counter and tugged Derek to him, kissing him hard. "We need to do that every day," he muttered when his brain finally starts working again.

Derek mumbled his contented agreement against Stiles' neck.

* * *

**I have several little notes for y'all. First, there will definitely be some angst coming up in a couple chapters as we end the kid stuff and the adults have to deal. It will also be a bit more minimal on the Sterek side of things as Chris/Peter have to ANGST for a while. I'll still keep some fluffy stuff though.**

**Let's see what else. Oh, I'm kind of in love with how much y'all are liking the Chris/Peter part of the story. I have so much love for that pairing it's ridiculous. Them and the Isaac/Danny dynamic. It's almost as good as Sterek for me.**

**So speaking of that, if y'all ever want some little drabbles for other characters or pairings (whether related to this story or completely different), feel free to hit me up on tumblr with requests. .com. **


	10. Chapter 10

The night before the spell would lift, Derek was downstairs on the couch reading while Stiles gave Chris and Peter their baths. The first round of that experience had been more than a little awkward and potentially nightmarish. Derek's initial thought had been to make one of the pack do it.

Of course, most of them had conveniently disappeared. Allison begged off, stating that taking care of her boyfriend or her father was just beyond the boundaries of weird. Derek pleaded similar reasoning.

In the end, Stiles got stuck with it as the only one who could get any of the boys to behave and the one who was best able to compartmentalize. There was a brief suggestion at just throwing them all in the creek but Derek couldn't actually convince anyone that was a good idea.

Now though, Stiles had managed a routine. Scott and Isaac were in their room, playing with the stuffed animals that Lydia, Jackson, and Danny had brought over by the sound of it. Derek could hear Chris kicking his legs against the chair outside the bathroom where Stiles had told him to wait for his turn.

They'd made it through the two weeks better than either Stiles or Derek could have hoped. There was a lot of work ahead of them, but bonds were forming. Boyd had connected with Danny and as a result, Jackson was making an effort at friendship as well.

The women of the pack had plenty of issues to work through as well, but they were trying to be honest with each other, instead of their past passive-aggressive methods of dealing with problems.

They'd also found a bonding opportunity in teasing him about Stiles. Derek would mind, but since Stiles was the one waiting in his bed, he really couldn't bring himself to care too much.

As he was thinking, a soft voice sounded from upstairs. "D'wek?"

Scott still couldn't figure out how to pronounce his name, so he knew who was calling him. Derek marked his place in his book and headed up to Isaac's bedroom.

When he got there, the two cubs had—amazingly enough—picked up their toys. Isaac was cuddling a stuffed wolf that Stiles bought as a joke but the kid had latched on to it. Scott was holding a book in his hands.

"Will you wead a bedtime story, D'wek?" asked Scott, turning the full force of his puppy eyes on Derek. He'd been using those a lot as a cub.

"Sure," answered Derek. "What book?"

Scott handed him a copy of Dr Seuss' _What Was I Scared Of?._ "This one's best."

Derek sat down on the bed and let Isaac and Scott crawl up onto his lap. They both leaned against his chest, resting their heads on his shoulders as he read. It had become their routine.

He read the book slowly, adding inflections and changing his voice when necessary, just like he used to for his own siblings. The reminder ached a little, but not nearly as much as he would have thought. Somehow actually accessing the memories was making them sweet and not so bitter.

By the time he'd finished the story, Stiles was sitting on the foot of the bed, with both Peter and Chris resting their heads in his lap.

Peter requested _Sam and the Firefly_ and there was no way Derek could resist reading what had been his uncle and his father's favorite children's book.

They finished with Stiles' favorite_, Where the Wild Things Are,_ as the four children drifted off.

"So Isaac," started Jackson, elbowing his best friend.

"Shut up, Jackson." Danny deliberately focused on the video game they were playing.

Boyd just set his controller down, having learned over the last week that when Jackson wanted to talk about something important, they talked about it.

"Not shut up," returned Jackson. "You're going to ask him out right? As soon as the spell's over?"

"I thought I might give him a minute to adjust." Danny's tone dripped with sarcasm.

Jackson gave him an 'I can't deal with your tone' look in response. "The point is that we need to talk."

Danny put the controller on the coffee table and turned to Jackson. "Do you really have to give your protective friend speech?"

"That one comes from me," said Boyd with a devious grin at the human.

"I want you to understand that Isaac's been through a lot," started Jackson. He paled for a second at the glares from both Danny and Boyd. "And I get that I could have stopped quite a bit of it. But I just think you should understand that just because Isaac is everyone's favorite, doesn't make him a pushover."

"Yeah, I get that," replied Danny.

"No, Jackson's right," interjected Boyd, realizing he needed to speak up too. "Isaac doesn't trust people. He'll let us touch him but if you move too fast, he spooks. He doesn't understand hugs that don't have ulterior motives. You need to get that."

Danny's eyes softened as he saw that the two boys were just looking out for him. "I won't give Isaac a reason not to trust me."

Jackson squeezed his hand. "It's not just that. Isaac is—he's a lot like Stiles sometimes—using his words to lash out at people as a defensive mechanism."

"You do that," noted Danny.

"Not the same way. I still come off as a self-righteous asshole and most people don't take me seriously. Isaac and Stiles can give you the impression they mean every cruel word."

"And they don't?"

Boyd took that one. "Sometimes they do. But when it comes to pack, they're both just scared of rejection."

Danny sighed. "How am I supposed to know the difference?"

"That's easy," grinned Boyd. "When they mean it, people end up dead."

"That's really not comforting."

Boyd smirked and grabbed his controller again, deciding his part of the conversation was over.

Jackson leaned into Danny as they switched the game back on. "I just want to make sure you know that when Isaac tries to run away from you and from his own feelings, and he will, you need to chase him."

Danny nodded. "I won't let him disappear."

Once the cubs were all asleep, Derek and Stiles moved them into separate rooms. Allison was at Lydia's for the night, having decided that while her presence wouldn't be harmful, it might add more stress to an already delicate situation. No one was exactly sure what would happen when they woke up, and the fae's only answer had been that it varies.

Scott and Isaac stayed together in the room that would be Isaac's. The curly-haired beta had crashed at Scott's before, so Derek was fairly certain that waking up in the same bed wouldn't be too horrible a shock to the system.

Peter was stuck in his room and Chris placed on the couch. Derek actually felt bad for putting Chris on the couch but Stiles suggested allowing the hunter easy escape access was in everyone's best interests. At least until they could explain.

It was a good solution.

Stiles sat down next to Peter while Derek was tucking Scott and Isaac in. "Hey Peter," he said in a soft whisper. "I'm not really sure how much of this you're going to remember tomorrow and we all might still be kind of nervous around adult you. But I want you to know we care. About more than just the kid version too. You fucked up a lot. Like a lot. But we've all kind of done that lately. Love makes you do the wacky as Buffy says. I think we can figure out something though. If we all try. There's no fixing the past, not when people are gone. But we could try building something new."

He stroked Peter's hair back from his face, smiling at the sight of Peter sucking on his fingers, something he only did in sleep.

"And if you do remember any of this, or even a hint of it, talk to Chris. There's something really special between the two of you and we can all see it right now. I'd like to see it again. So don't give up on him. He's a lot like Derek, defensive and an absurd martyr, but you're a lot like me with the deflection and second guessing people's feelings. Give him a chance, okay, Peter. Give yourself one too."

Stiles hesitated for a moment, then leaned down and pressed a kiss to the tiny werewolf's forehead. "Night, Peter."

In the other room, Derek felt his heart swell with gratitude over Stiles' words. Even if Peter didn't remember them, they mattered to Derek. He looked at the two cubs who were curled up in his arms.

"I guess if Stiles can give a few last words, so can I. I'm really going to miss having you two this small. Every once in a while, it was like having my little brothers around again." Derek sat down as he reflected, and rubbed his face against Isaac's hair to swipe away the couple of tears that appeared. "I think I needed this, needed to be able to look out for you guys as more than an Alpha. You both need family more than a boss."

He tucked both boys under the covers. "I'll try to do better at remembering to act like a big brother more often."

Derek ruffled a hand through Isaac's hair, then did the same to Scott, though not quite as fondly, before moving to the doorway.

Stiles met him in the hall. "You okay?"

"Yeah. Just weird to think of how much changed in the last two weeks and how much more is going to change tomorrow."

"We'll get through it."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes," said Stiles firmly. He leaned his head against Derek's shoulder. "We know this is a pack worth fighting for now. No one's going to let it go easily."

Derek took comfort in the promise. Once they were back in bed, he curled up behind Stiles, pressing kisses against the teen's neck. "Thank you," he said, hoping Stiles understood all he was putting behind the two words.

"Anytime," answered Stiles.

It took all of five minutes for them to fall asleep, exhausted as they were by the day's activities.

The next morning could have gone smoothly. But for all Derek and Stiles' best efforts, they were too tired to notice the four kids that crawled into their bed throughout the night.

They noticed when four adults started screaming at sunrise.


	11. Chapter 11

Stiles sat up with a jolt at the same time as Derek, causing their heads to knock together. Stiles groaned and flopped back down onto the pillow. "Who fucking screamed?"

Derek jabbed him in the ribs with an elbow. "Stiles."

"What?"

"The boys snuck in the bed last night."

"So? They do that every day. Just take Chris to the bathroom and he'll go back to sleep for an hour."

There's an indignant grunt from somewhere on the bed.

"Stiles," said Derek, with the put on patience of a saint. "They aren't boys anymore."

Stiles sat back up. "Shit."

"Someone explain what the hell is going on, right now," demanded Chris, who was digging himself out of the blankets and over to the door.

Stiles took a moment to be glad everyone was properly clothed.

"The local fae cast a de-aging spell, turning the four of you into children for the last two weeks. You've been staying here and Derek and I were taking care of all of you. With help," explained Stiles. "The kid versions all liked to snuggle at night so we learned to get used to it and we tried putting you all in separate beds to prevent a situation like this but apparently none of you cooperated." He glared around the room at the others and took a moment to observe them.

Peter was sitting up against the headboard, looking more shaken than anyone else. He was looking everywhere except at Chris or at Stiles' hand around his ankle.

Chris was standing by the door as though he might bolt at any second but he didn't leave yet.

Scott was completely lost.

Isaac mumbled. "Whatever." Then he rolled over the top of Scott, kicking with his feet, and wrapped a long arm around Derek. "Sleep now."

Stiles leaned over and ruffled Isaac's hair.

Scott wiped the sleep out of his eyes. "Stiles, why am I here and not with my mom?"

"She works nights," answered Derek.

"And you and Isaac are kind of attached at the hip. The only bromance that can rival the two of you at this point would be Boyd and Jackson," said Stiles.

Isaac woke up at that. "Boyd and Jackson get along now? Was there magic pixie dust involved?"

Derek snorted. "No. But there have been some significant changes over the last couple weeks. The fae were good intentioned, so there are no battles to worry about. You should be aware of new bonds and stronger emotions but probably not any specific events from the last two weeks. Stiles and I can explain everything, though so can any other member of the pack."

The others stared at him a little.

"I'm still confused," said Scott.

Stiles took over and explained in more detail, also noting that the pack bonds were stronger as well. That seemed to help clear things up a little bit, though Stiles and Derek could both see Chris and Peter were freaking out internally. When Stiles was finished, Peter was sitting on the edge of the bed, while Chris was tugging boots on his feet.

"I have to go," mumbled Chris, backing up and out the door.

Peter's hand shook towards Chris just a bit and then fell back. "I need coffee," he said finally, leaving without looking back.

The others sat for a moment, until the sound of a cup crashing came from downstairs.

"Where the hell is the coffee?!" snarled Peter, loud enough even Stiles could hear.

Stiles jumped up. "I'm gonna go help Peter." He grabbed a shirt off a chair as he hurried down the stairs and away from the awkwardness of the bedroom. If he had to explain more to Peter while in the kitchen, so be it.

For a few minutes, Derek, Scott, and Isaac sat staring at each other from different corners of the bed. Neither teen seemed to know what to say next and Derek wasn't really sure whether he should let things happen or go get Stiles to help explain more or just jump right in to the changes he'd already planned to make.

Scott spoke up first. "So uh, I guess I'll go home now. I'm sorry your alpha duties meant getting stuck with me as a kid but I'll try not to make it weird at pack meetings. Not that I know what really happened but yeah. Taking off now."

Derek mentally told himself to screw it. "C'mon," he said, grabbing an arm of each boy and pushing them out the bedroom door ahead of him.

"Dude, I said I was going," started Scott.

"Not what I meant," returned Derek. He motioned for them to follow him down the hall. The first door he opened led into Isaac's room. While the pack was adamant about the kids needing to decorate their own rooms, Derek and Stiles had still put basics together, hung up a few clothes, and in Isaac's case, placed some family pictures from his house on the wall.

"What is this?" asked Isaac as he walked inside.

Derek smiled. "Your room. Figured that couch was getting uncomfortable after a year."

Isaac turned in a slow circle, looking at his room. The photos on the dresser caught his eye and he stepped over to look. One showed Isaac, Boyd, & Erica laughing together. The other was of his dad, with Camden on his back and Isaac clinging to his dad's legs, everyone smiling. Isaac looked at Derek in confusion. "Why?"

"I know you loved him," said Derek in a gentle tone. "Not what he did or who he became, but the guy in that picture is a man who loved his sons. You shouldn't feel ashamed of your memories."

Isaac flew back across the room and flung his arms around Derek. "Thank you!"

Derek hugged him back and noticed that Scott was shuffling his feet awkwardly behind him. He turned to see Scott with a genuine smile for Isaac, but the scent of disappointment lingered. Derek moved towards the door. "Scott, you wanna see your room?"

Scott's eyes went wide. "I have a room?"

"You're pack, aren't you? You get a room."

There wasn't much of anything decorating Scott's room except for a picture of him and Stiles, another of Scott with Allison, and a poster with some sports quote on it. But it was his.

Scott positively beamed at Derek when he saw it. "I can't believe you gave me a room. That's awesome!" He glanced around again and his face fell. "Oh."

Derek raised an eyebrow. "Oh what?"

"It's nothing," said Scott, shaking his head. "Not a big deal, let's go eat breakfast."

Derek grinned, he had a good guess as to why Scott was suddenly worried again. "Allison's room is on the top floor. Something about the two of you needing easy access to the roof to watch the stars."

Scott and Isaac's faces were something to behold. "Allison has a room in the pack house?"

"She's pack."

"Since when?" Scott's voice was nearly a screech.

"Eleven days ago," answered Derek.

"Where is Allison anyway?" asked Isaac. "I mean, since her dad was apparently a kid for the last two weeks as well."

Derek led them back downstairs as he answered. "She's at Lydia's with Erica." He heard Scott jolt to a stop behind him and then a thump as Isaac ran into the other teen.

"Allison, Lydia, and Erica are hanging out? Together?" Isaac's voice was shocked.

Derek shrugged. "I thought the whole Danny, Boyd, and Jackson playing video games together all night was weirder personally."

Scott sank down onto a stair. "I'm gonna need a minute to process."

Derek laughed and tugged Scott back up. "Remember way back when, I said we were brothers now?"

Scott nodded hesitantly.

"Well, the last two weeks made us all realize we'd never acted like a family, which is what a pack is supposed to be at the core. So Stiles and I decided to change things."

"Yeah about that," interjected Isaac, just as they reached the kitchen. "Why was Stiles in the bed too?"

Derek was saved from answering by Stiles, who tripped over a chair and nearly sent the plate of bacon strips flying everywhere.

"So breakfast!" squeaked Stiles.

It was a testament to how affected Peter was when the older man just rolled his eyes and looked back down at the table.

"Let's just say there's a reason why your room is at the end of the hall," said Derek.

Stiles quickly shoved a plate in front of Derek. "You like bacon, right, Derek? Eat, eat your bacon. Here, Scott, you can eat too." He glared at Derek once his back was turned to Scott, mouthing 'Don't do that' as he turned.

Isaac burst into laughter. "Wow."

Scott looked at the others, shrugged and started eating.

There were a few awkward moments; Stiles and Derek were both more tactile with the others than they were used to and Derek said a little too much, revealing his familiarity with the Chris/Peter situation sooner than was perhaps best. But Peter didn't say anything and Isaac seemed to like the contact so the meal passed without any actual incidents.

When they finished with breakfast, Peter offered to help clean up and Derek said he'd drive Scott home. Isaac asked to tag along and the trio headed out the door.

Peter and Stiles cleaned in silence. Stiles attempted a couple of times to break it but Peter responded with mumbles or one word answers and Stiles gave up until the dishes were done.

"We have to talk, Peter," said Stiles.

Peter turned on him. "Talk about what, Stiles? About how my nephew just hugged me? Twice. Or that I was apparently a kid for the last two weeks and when I woke up it was in Chris Argent's arms? Chris! Jesus, Stiles, I can't deal with this."

"You have to deal with it. Ignoring this isn't an option."

Peter's voice lowered to a dangerous tone. "You told him. Maybe you told the others. I guess I'll find out. But you told Derek my secret and I trusted you."

"That's the point, Peter!" screamed Stiles. "You trusted me. You made me pack. Not Derek or Scott or Erica or anyone else. You were the one who insisted the pack needed me during the alphas and you're the one who wouldn't let me leave. Whether you had some sort of nefarious plan before then, I don't know. But you trusted me enough to give me a place to belong."

"So you betray that trust by telling my nephew that it's my fault?" Peter's eyes were flashing blue at Stiles and the claws were barely held back.

"First of all, pack means looking out for each other. That includes doing what's best for you, even if you don't like it. And Chris? Chris is one of the best things that has ever and will ever happen to you and you're just too fucking scared to deal with it."

Peter snarled at Stiles.

He didn't flinch. "And second, if you actually think Derek would be able to push aside his own guilt and desperate need for family long enough to even consider blaming the only true family he has left, you're a bigger idiot than I thought." Stiles reared up and nearly spat the words in Peter's face. "Derek didn't say he wants to talk because he's kicking you out or blaming you. He still thinks the entire fire was his fault. That no matter what choices you might have made, Derek gave away secrets so the blame rests on him. He expects to be able to tell you that it's not your fault."

"But it is my fault," said Peter, eyes returning to normal as he sank into a chair. "It's all my fault."

Stiles moved right in his face again. "You listen to me, Peter Edward Hale, and you listen well. The fault lies with Gerard and Kate Argent. If you and Derek want regret, that's fine. But neither of you are to blame for that fire and I don't want to hear those words from either one of you ever again."

"Why do you care, Stiles? About me. Why do you care?"

"Because you're pack, Peter." Stiles dropped into the chair next to Peter. "You're also an asshole a lot of the time, your fashion sense isn't nearly as good as you think it is, and I still don't like a lot of the choices you've made in the past. But every one of us has fucked up and pack means discipline not abandonment. I realize you didn't mean to tell me the things that came out due to the wolfsbane. I kept your secrets but now the pack needs to heal. We need to be a fucking pack, not this disaster that it's been."

Peter stretched a hand towards Stiles. "You think we can do it?"

Stiles nodded. "We've been doing it for the last two weeks. Now the rest of you just get to catch up."

Isaac waited until the car was almost to the main highway before he finally spoke up. "So are we going to talk about the fact that you and Stiles have clearly been playing house this entire time?"

Derek jerked his hand on the wheel and had to quickly overcorrect. "What?!"

Scott rolled his eyes from the backseat. "Dude even I can smell you two on each other. Though not as much as I would have thought considering the way both of you have been pining."

"Yeah, seriously, Derek, you two are sleeping in the same bed, have each other's morning habits memorized, but you haven't had sex? What's with that?" Isaac's voice was curious but also teasing.

"I would love to. But some people insist on cuddling every night with their alpha," returned Derek with a quick glare at both of them.

"I'm sure I just tagged along with Isaac," protested Scott.

Derek reached behind him and put a hand around Scott's neck, then gently squeezed. Scott gave a half groan of comfort and leaned into the touch for a second before yelping and jumping away. "Dude!"

"Cuddler." Derek could be just as immature. Hell, if he thought about it, maybe that was also a little of what Scott needed.

"Ass."

"Snuggle bunny."

"Oh my god you are turning into Stiles."

Isaac was curled up in laughter in the passenger seat at the two of them.

Derek finally pulled up to Scott's house and Isaac hopped out to let Scott out of the car. The alpha leaned over the seat. "Come by the house tomorrow afternoon for training. We're trying out something new."

"Really?" Both Isaac and Scott turned to him with anticipation.

"You'll find out tomorrow," answered Derek with a grin.

Allison heard her phone first. "Derek? Are they awake?"

Lydia and Erica waited for her to finish talking before they asked questions.

"What happened?" demanded Lydia.

"Is everyone alive?" asked Erica.

"Apparently the boys all did their snuggling routine in the middle of the night and Derek and Stiles were too exhausted to notice so they all woke up as adults in Derek's bed," answered Allison.

Erica and Lydia stared at her then dissolved into peals of laughter.

Erica recovered just enough to ask, "What did they do?" before giggling again.

"Derek said Scott freaked out the most which isn't exactly a surprise, that Isaac just pushed Scott's whiny butt out of bed and tried to cuddle Stiles, and neither my dad or Peter is talking much." Allison sighed. "Guess that means I need to go talk to Dad and see where his head's at."

Lydia frowned. "How much do they remember? Or did Derek say?"

"He didn't but the fae told them it would be the emotions and the bonds that they'd remember. The pack connections, not the actual words or events."

Erica and Lydia started helping Allison pack up her things from the night before. "This is going to be a disaster isn't it?" asked Erica.

Lydia shook her head. "No. Isaac will be thrilled that we're all getting along, you know how he is. Scott will go along with anything Allison and Stiles tell him to do. Besides, now that Derek has learned a few things about dealing with Scott, I doubt the same problems will arise."

Allison nodded her agreement. "The problem is going to be with Peter and Chris. I think we need two plans of attack."

Lydia quirked an eyebrow. "Two?"

"One is to get them talking to each other and dealing with the disaster that is their relationship," answered Allison. "The other is to bring both into the pack."

"You want your dad to be pack?" Erica frowned.

"You're letting me in."

"Good point."

Allison smiled at her. "I think my dad needs to see that pack doesn't have to be cruel or strict or wolves only. With John and Melissa around, plus the rest of us actually getting along, this is a pack worth being a part of. And knowing even a hint of what we do about him and Peter, he may need this more than he realizes."

She gathered her things and started to leave, then spun back around. "Oh! I almost forgot. Derek's on his way to pick you up, Erica. Then Boyd after that."

Erica shrieked. "Shit! Boyd can't see my hair like this."

Lydia laughed and tugged Erica into the bathroom, waving a goodbye to Allison.

Once Derek and Isaac left Scott's house, they picked up Erica first, who promptly started teasing Isaac and telling him stories, then headed over to get Boyd and inform the others of the following day's pack meeting.

Erica led the way up to the house to pick up Boyd, followed by Isaac and Derek. She didn't get a chance to knock when the door opened and Boyd, Danny, and Jackson stumbled over each other to get out of the house.

"Derek," said Jackson in greeting.

Boyd moved to Erica's side and kissed her cheek in greeting.

Isaac saw Danny and froze, not knowing what to say. Hearing he'd been pretty attached to Danny in his kid form was already weirding him out. But now the teen was standing in front of him and he still smelt like home and safe and coconut and Isaac wanted so badly.

Danny stood on the doorstep, watching Isaac and looking terrified.

Isaac tilted his head down, then his eyes flickered up bashfully before falling to his feet again.

The other four werewolves stood still, waiting on someone to make the first move. Jackson elbowed Danny.

"Yeah," muttered Danny to himself with purpose. He took two long strides towards Isaac, sliding his hands over Isaac's cheeks and tilting the boy's head up so they were looking at each other.

"Danny?" asked Isaac hesitantly.

"I'm kind of crazy about you," whispered Danny. "Have been for a while. And now that you're not four years old anymore, I'd really like to kiss you."

Isaac nodded as best he could with his face held capture in Danny's hands. His eyes widened as the teen leaned forward, before sliding closed when Danny's lips touched his. A soft oh slipped out at the kiss. Isaac's arms swung up and pulled Danny in closer, deepening the kiss just enough to give it purpose.

Danny kissed him slow and sweet, until finally Isaac pulled away to catch his breath.

"Finally," said Jackson behind them and both boys laughed a little.

Derek, Boyd, and Erica turned to get in the car and head out.

"Isaac?" questioned Derek.

Isaac didn't look away from Danny. "I think I'm gonna just stay here for a while. If that's okay."

Danny decided another kiss was the best way to answer.

Derek laughed. "Yeah, I thought that might be the case. Training tomorrow at 2, boys."

They made half-hearted waves at him as Danny tugged on Isaac's shirt, leading him into the house.


	12. Chapter 12

Nearly two months went by without incident.

The teens of the pack continued to grow closer and learn how to trust each other. Stiles had encouraged Derek during the de-aging phase to split the time between actual training and just hanging out.

It was a smart idea. Learning to fight together was important, but for the last two years, the group had only known how to team up in a fight. No one knew each other and so they didn't trust anyone when life was calm.

Now things were different. Little nuances and character traits were easier to notice when arguing over things like pizza toppings than deadly weapons.

Derek changed up training as well, making it less about attacks and more about teamwork. He used games like tag, capture the flag, hide and seek, and an impressive collection of paintball guns to foster a sense of pack. The fun had by the pack during the training left the betas more open to criticism as well. In fact, quite often Derek was able to step back and let his pack members correct their own mistakes, rather than needing to do it all himself.

There had been some trouble initially with Scott being integrated into the pack. He'd seemed to have the impression that efforts were being made, but that it was only due to the fae spell, and he'd go back to doing things on his own soon after.

Derek continued to work on a balance of Alpha and mentor with Scott—as well as the others in the pack—and let the humans and betas sort out Scott's feelings. He'd also discovered that while Scott responded better, choosing to pick fights less when Derek treated him as more of an equal, Jackson preferred the authority.

It seemed ridiculously Psych 101 level to Derek, but something in Jackson clearly craved discipline because the beta thrived under Derek as an alpha, whereas Jackson fell back to his typical douchery when given equal ground.

Stiles had wisely chosen to minimize how much he tried to persuade Scott that being a part of Derek's pack was the best choice. The teen simply reminded Scott that he wasn't the type to make a decision without researching it thoroughly, and that he felt this was where he was supposed to be.

But Stiles was also biased now, as evidenced by the fact that he was at Derek's more than at home, and that most of his t-shirts belonged to the Alpha. He'd grown too in the last few weeks, understanding better when to push and when to step back.

Instead, Isaac and Allison took the lead reins of insuring Scott stayed with the pack as a whole. Isaac had adapted best after the spell wore off; he was just thrilled that his friends were getting along.

He did choose to co-opt Stiles' bed whenever Stiles stayed over with Derek, saying someone had to look out for the Sheriff.

Stiles suspected that Isaac just liked having a father figure. And John liked that Isaac usually showed up with food that Stiles would have termed contraband.

It took a few weeks, but eventually Scott came to fully realize that Derek meant his earlier promises. Scott's room in the house wasn't being taken away, no one was plotting to kill Allison once her guard was down, Derek wasn't trying to make Scott look weak, or any other crazy idea the young werewolf suggested.

Once his decision was made though, Scott jumped in full force, bringing video games over to the house, declaring one of the kitchen cabinets dedicated to junk food, and even teaching the other werewolves how to use their powers to ease pain.

Derek could have taught the betas the same thing of course. But he'd watched quietly the day Scott showed Erica and Jackson what to do, and realized this was something he could fully delegate to Scott.

Isaac and Danny rather quickly became the pet couple of the pack. Isaac continued to thrive under tactile comfort and positive reinforcement. Danny opened up more and more as he realized he truly was a part of the pack and not just because he was friends with Jackson or dating Isaac.

There were still occasionally awkward moments with everyone though.

Lydia's bluntness caused a few tears from time to time. But she was learning to apologize for her actions, and the small effort went a long way in easing tensions.

Jackson and Stiles both lashed out with their words when cornered or pressured. Allison and Derek together ended up dealing with that problem, as the two sarcastic teens listened to them best. For every member of the pack who knew to ignore the comments, there were others who could be easily broken by harsh words and they all wanted to be better.

Erica and Danny formed a tight knit friendship to nearly everyone's surprise, and could be found ditching their boyfriends to go dancing at Jungle once a week. Without having to say a word about it, the two slowly learned from each other to stop using their looks as a weapon. And then they learned to stop using it as a shield, instead finding confidence in themselves, rather than societal norms.

If asked, Stiles would have told Derek that he was most proud of Erica and Danny. Not that he played favorites.

Stiles did struggle in the early weeks. The time watching the child versions of the others had instigated a parental instinct in himself and Derek. For the Alpha, this served to better his interaction with the pack and kept him from being as distant as before.

But for the younger human, he often found himself reaching out to ruffle hair or lecturing about eating vegetables, before a pained look would cross his face, and Stiles would shut down for the remainder of the evening.

Melissa stepped in to talk with Stiles after seeing a particularly strong breakdown after a pack dinner. She very gently explained that it seemed quite natural that Stiles' would have a nurturing instinct. He already had one towards his father, and by dating Derek, he was in a protective position over the pack anyway. Melissa helped Stiles understand that he didn't have to look at it as mothering the pack—that particular concept was what kept causing Stiles' emotional distress—but as nurturing and supporting his friends.

She emphasized the need for Stiles to allow himself the indulgence, while not making exaggerated efforts to be a parental figure for the pack. It further helped when she reminded Stiles that several of the pack members still did have parents, and that things would be changing once school started and routines needed to be followed again.

While Melissa dealt with Stiles, John also took some time to talk with Derek. Besides an adapted to werewolves version of the 'what are your intentions with my child' speech, John made sure Derek spoke to the rest of the pack about never referring to Stiles as pack mom.

No matter what Stiles' actions said, the grief was still strong, and it was the combined sorrow and self-imposed pressure to live up to Stiles' memories of his mother that were causing him problems within the pack.

Derek had a private and very strongly worded meeting with the pack one night while John and Stiles had family time. The others understood, and it never became a problem.

Allison and Chris were dealing with the changes in their own way. Chris had been furious immediately after getting home that first day, demanding to know why Allison had left him in that house with Derek. Allison had to explain the situation a few times before Chris truly understood that she'd needed the help, and that was the best solution.

She was patient with her father though, knowing that his anger wasn't directed at her or even at Derek, but at his renewed feelings for the older Hale. Or perhaps not renewed, but reinvigorated.

Chris in turn—once calm and mostly rational again—noticed the change in Allison's demeanor. Some of her gentleness was back, and she smiled more easily, than she had in nearly a year. As he actually believed in the Code—flawed as it may be at times—he didn't want to be at odds with the werewolves of Beacon Hills. So Chris was gracious about Allison's decision to be a member of the Hale pack.

The hunter had always understood his wife's choice after being bitten, but he hadn't agreed with it. Not truly. Even his rabid dog speech had always been more about convincing himself to stop caring about Peter, and less about viewing werewolves as mere animals.

When Derek reached out with a detailed contract of peace, Chris signed willingly, and made an effort to speak without jumping to conclusions when he ran into the various pack members.

He still refused to visit the Hale house for any reason, stating that Allison or Derek could inform him of any news.

The others were hopeful that he could be brought in as a closer ally, much like Melissa and John were, over time, but it was all too obvious for now that the issue between Peter and Chris had to be resolved first.

Peter had the harder time of the two, primarily due to his proximity to the pack. He'd listened to Derek's admonitions after recovering from the shock of the spell, and made a stronger effort to join training exercises.

The older werewolf had more experience with territory law and supernatural politics as well, so he spent some time teaching the younger pack members about such things.

Peter also apologized to Lydia. He wasn't exactly sorry for what he did, as his attacks on her were the reason he was around now, but he made the effort to sound genuine. The gesture was what Lydia wanted more than anything, and while she was by no means comfortable around the older man, she stopped deliberately causing problems when he was around.

Peter had the most trouble during pack bonding, when the others would just hang out over dinner or games or whatever flimsy excuse someone came up with.

The feelings of family and friendship and bonds were strongest in the quiet moments. A quiet that was always shattered for Peter as his own lonely state was made all the more glaringly obvious.

He tried to get past it, he truly did, but the emotional pain was too strong. Slowly he began to withdraw until his only interaction with the pack was during training sessions.

And if it wasn't for Derek refusing to buy his favorite wines or gourmet foods, he wouldn't interact with most of the town either. Because it was in town that the day would come when Peter would inevitably run into Chris.

Both men dreaded and secretly anticipated the day.

When the run in finally arrived, it had was far too long in coming and yet happened far sooner than either were prepared for.


	13. Chapter 13

**This is really short and for that I apologize. I'm just busy and trying to get commissions done and other real life stuff and I figured a little is better than nothing. Though maybe not so much when this is the little.**

* * *

Peter hadn't even registered that he was running the risk of seeing Chris at the grocery store. His sole thought had been getting out of the house and not having to deal with the pack's pizza night.

For some reason Isaac and Danny had decided that everyone should make their own pizzas and despite the mocking of certain people's choices, the pack was laughing and enjoying themselves.

It was torture for Peter, who didn't know what he wanted anymore. He'd been focused on revenge when he came back from the dead. Smarter about it this time but still determined to finish what he'd started. Gerard was alive after all.

And then they'd killed Gerard and the alphas and the other problems and he was left trying to figure out what next. Because no matter how much the pack grew, Peter knew he'd never be comfortable with that bond again. There was too much fear that he might lose it. He didn't know that he wanted to feel like a part of the pack, at least not on such an emotional level anyway. These weren't the cousins and siblings he'd grown up with. They were teenagers. Strong, resilient, hell of a lot tougher than they looked teenagers but still kids.

He didn't belong in their world. He didn't really belong anywhere.

This introspective thought distracted Peter from paying attention to his surroundings, and he jolted out of his reverie when his shopping cart ran into another as he rounded the corner.

"I am so sorry about that," he began in his usual overly charming voice and looked up to see Chris in front of him.

Chris was clenching his teeth in the way Peter still knew meant he was trying not to say what he was thinking and Chris' knuckles were white around the handle of his own cart. "Don't worry about it," gritted out the hunter.

"Sorry," he said again. This time he meant more than the simple word. Sorry for not scenting Chris out and preventing this awkward moment. Sorry for not knowing how to talk to him anymore. Sorry that try as he might, he still loved the man and that his love was exacerbating this tension. Peter looked away, towards the cart.

"I didn't think Stiles let anyone else do the grocery shopping these days," said Chris in the most awkward tone Peter had heard in a very long time.

"They're making pizza. I needed out of the house," answered Peter. There were a million things he could follow that with. He's not a kid so he prefers to let others make his food. He has a sophisticated pallet. He can't stand to be around everyone when they're happy and in love and serve as constant reminders that he's alone through his own actions and inactions and he doesn't know how to fix it.

Chris looked utterly miserable. "Pizza's nice."

"I'm not a fan."

"But you…" Chris stopped himself before continuing.

Peter could guess what the man was thinking. How he used to love pizza, insisting they go out for a slice practically every night through college. Hell, even in the years leading up to the fire, they still grabbed pizza in towns dozens of miles away. Every instinct of self-preservation he had told him not to say anything else but he couldn't help it. "There's not really a good Chicago-style place in Beacon Hills anyway."

It was their tradition. Started on a spring break trip to the Windy City that they spent going to baseball games, eating pizza and drinking until they were falling over each other on the walk back to the hotel room.

Peter meant it as the tiniest offer of peace, an acknowledgment of the past but all the memories were flooding in at once.

Chris telling him New York style was better.

Peter insisting he should give deep dish a chance.

Chris admitting that Peter had pretty good taste.

The mad scramble to pay the bill and get back to their hotel after Peter had leered at Chris and said that wasn't the thing he had good taste in.

Peter still remembered the feeling of Chris' hands over his body, skimming the muscles, pulling him in tighter with promises that they'd make it work despite their families. The way Chris' hot breath mingled with his, tasting of garlic and mozzarella.

It was too much.

"I have to go," blurted out Peter, using every ounce of his control to walk away from his cart and out the door. He ran once he was out of sight.

Peter kept running. Into the woods, screaming out a broken howl and shifting until he couldn't feel anymore.

Chris was left standing in the grocery store, trying to process what had just happened. He finally managed to finish buying his groceries and load up the SUV.

He sat in the car, set his hands on the steering wheel, gripping it tightly to try and find some semblance of control. After a few moments, Chris buried his head in his arms and wept.


	14. Chapter 14

**And this pretty much ends the angsty portion of our story. There will still be a tiny bit, because Chris and Peter are emotionally stunted, but we'll mostly be back to antics and jokes from here on out. **

**You may have noticed a chapter count. We've got two primary chapters left-and the next one has a lot of pack interaction as well as a Isaac/Danny scene for those who love that pair the way I do-and then an epilogue. This epilogue will be pretty long though. I've had half of it written for a while and I've still got lots to add. **  
**Anyway, I'm so grateful to all the comments and favorites and readership in general. So thank you!**

* * *

_A few hours before the end of last chapter:_

"Alright, you've eaten, dishes are clean, everybody out!" yelled Stiles gleefully.

Several of the pack stared at him. "We're hanging out here tonight," said Scott.

"I think that's a terrible idea," said Stiles. "Absolutely terrible. You should all go see a late movie. Or go bowling! Yes, bowling is a great couples event. Out you go!" He made shooing motions with his hands as he spoke.

Jackson and Boyd were laughing at him but they headed out the door, tugging Allison and Danny along with them so they could continue their previous discussion.

"But you and Derek are a couple," protested Isaac.

Lydia looped an arm around Isaac. "What Stiles really means is that he wants to have sex with his boyfriend and that he hasn't yet decided if he's into exhibitionism." She looked back at Stiles. "If you decide in favor of the concept, by all means let me know."

"Get out," growled Derek but his tone was playful.

"Why can't you just say that in the first place?" asked Scott, rolling his eyes and stealing one of the leftover pizza boxes out of the fridge.

Stiles turned gravely to his best friend. "Scott, I love you and the pack. But I would very much like to make sweet love to Balto over here and I only promised dinner. Not a floor show."

Derek and Lydia burst into laughter.

Scott blushed. "You're awful."

Stiles nodded. "Yeah. But at least that's not what keeps me up at night anymore."

With loud groans, the rest of his pack mates made their way out of the house. Stiles spun back around to Derek with a grin. "So?"

"So c'mere and kiss me, dork." Derek smiled and beckoned Stiles over.

Stiles slid onto Derek's lap, straddling him and letting his hands come up to cup Derek's face. He tilted his head down so he could kiss Derek, tasting the lingering flavor of basil and tomatoes.

Derek's lips moved the way they usually did, against Stiles' lips before tracing down his neck so Derek could suck little marks into the skin. Stiles had to completely reverse his opinion of hickeys since dating Derek. But this time around Derek's hands weren't holding Stiles' hips steady, the way they ground Stiles in the moment. No, Stiles was distinctly aware of the way Derek's fingers were caressing the skin just under the waistband of his jeans, and how Derek was slowly—so very slowly—undoing Stiles' jeans.

Stiles wanted to help, he really did, but he couldn't even begin to think of what to do with his own hands. So he just let out a small moan of happiness and let Derek keep going.

As Derek pulled Stiles' cock out of his jeans and began stroking, alternating between quick, hard pulls and long torturous strokes, Stiles couldn't help but be happy that for once they had all night. Stiles knew that eventually, he was going to have to deal with the werewolf pack members being able to hear them and that he'd have to accept that closing the door to their room and focusing on Derek would be enough. But he wasn't there yet, so most of these type moments were fairly short and often stolen whenever they could find time. He relished the idea of a night to the two of them.

Stiles refocused as Derek tilted his head up to kiss Stiles again, moving away from his neck. "Mmm, Derek that feels amazing," breathed Stiles.

Derek licked into Stiles' mouth and stroked at the same time. Stiles jerked in Derek's lap and ground his hips back down. Derek let out his own noise of pleasure.

"Want to come with you," hissed Stiles, finally finding a use for his hands as he unzipped Derek's jeans and tugged Derek's dick out of his pants. Stiles wrapped a steady hand around Derek—who was already as hard as Stiles—and scooted closer, even as Derek's hand kept moving.

Stiles kissed him again and rocked his hips a little so Derek's hand brushed his. "Please, Derek."

"Yeah, yeah, okay," replied Derek, adjusting his hand so it held both their cocks. Stiles' returned his hand and within a few seconds they found a new rhythm.

"Stiles," moaned Derek, leaning his head back as he moved closer to the edge.

"No," protested Stiles, tugging Derek back to him with one hand around the back of his neck. He kissed harder, increasing the speed of their strokes at the same time.

With a soft cry against his lips, Derek shuddered and came. Stiles followed only seconds later, letting his forehead fall against Derek's in relief.

"I love you," breathed Derek.

Stiles pulled back a few inches. "Was that like a only because of the recent orgasm confession of love or the real thing? I'll be very understanding either way but I just want to know so I know how to properly respond next and…"

Derek cut him off with a quick kiss. "I meant it. I love you because of you."

"Oh good," said Stiles. "I love you so fucking much it hurts sometimes."

"Love is pain," returned Derek.

Stiles groaned. "You are not allowed to have private movie nights with Lydia anymore. I'm not having our movie become "The Notebook". No matter how perfect Noah Calhoun is. Was. Whatever."

Derek grinned. "If I tell you I loved you every day for a year, will you come upstairs and fuck me before we go to sleep?"

Stiles stood up and yanked on Derek's hand to pull him out of the chair. "I will never speak ill of Lydia's methods again. Let's go."

Derek laughed and followed him upstairs.

An hour later they were both lying next to each other, fully sated and completely content. "I still love you," said Stiles. "I'm probably going to say it a lot now."

"I love you best of all," said Derek, turning his head to press a kiss against Stiles' shoulder. He was too exhausted to move any farther.

"We need to kick them out more often."

"Agreed."

"Or have a symbol so they know not to just walk in whenever," suggested Stiles.

"Great. I'll stay here while you go put a sock on the door."

"You're hilarious."

A noise at the door downstairs made Stiles rethink his perspective. "Damnit! Stupid Murphy's law."

"I think it's technically Gumperson's law in this case," said Derek. "But yeah. Not it to kick them out."

"Ugh, fine. Lie there and be a satisfied gentleman of leisure. I'll go see whose home." Stiles made his way out of bed and tugged on some sweatpants and a t-shirt. He would have foregone the shirt but he'd learned in the last few weeks that too many people liked to make commentary about the muscles underneath. Just because he didn't feel a need to walk around half naked all the time didn't mean he was scrawny. But it was apparently a new concept to most of his friends.

He flicked the hall light on as he headed downstairs, wondering whether this was a Isaac freak out moment or Lydia reorganizing the kitchen in one of her moods or a Scott forgot why he was kicked out in the first place and came back for more pizza moment. Or anything in between.

What Stiles was not in any way prepared for was Peter, half wolfed out and sobbing, rocking back and forth in a corner of the front hall. "Peter?" whispered Stiles. "Peter, what the hell happened?"

Peter looked up at him. "I don't know," he cried. "This isn't me. I'm supposed to be the creepy pack member, the one nobody trusts. I'm not supposed to be torn up over a stupid fucking hunter. It's not fair!"

Stiles took a seat next to Peter on the floor, reaching out and placing a hand on Peter's arm. "Peter, what happened tonight?"

"Chris was at the store. And I wasn't paying attention so he surprised me and he hinted at something from back then. I know he didn't mean to. But then there were all these memories. It was like I was there again, all the same scents, the same tastes." Peter shook and Stiles tightened his grip. "For a second I could still feel his hands. I couldn't stay anymore. I couldn't, I couldn't."

"It's okay, Peter, it's okay," whispered Stiles. "You didn't hurt anyone right?"

Peter shook his head. "No. I just ran in the woods for a while. But I wanted to come home."

Stiles wasn't sure what to do with the little thrill that ran through him at the idea that this was home, even for Peter. The pack bond kept running deeper within Stiles. But he tabled his thoughts on that feeling and focused on Peter. "What do you need? What can I do?"

"I should go," said Peter.

"To stay at the loft?" questioned Stiles.

"No. Somewhere else. Somewhere not here," corrected Peter. His tears had subsided and now he just sounded defeated. "I need to get away before I do something stupid."

"What do you mean, stupid?" asked Stiles cautiously. Because if Peter thought he was going to start pulling some sort of suicide bullshit now, after they'd finally gotten to like him, he had another think coming.

"Like trying to get Chris back," admitted Peter in a low, broken tone.

Stiles was very still for a moment. Then he yelled. "Derek! Get your ass down here and talk some goddamn sense into your uncle!"

Derek was downstairs within two minutes.

"I assume you were listening," said Stiles.

Derek nodded.

"Good. Fix this." Stiles wrapped an arm around Peter's shoulders and kept the other hand on Peter's arm as Derek sat in front of his uncle.

Derek moved close enough so they were touching and waited until Peter looked directly at him.

"What?" growled Peter, slightly petulant. "I know it's terrible of me to want to be with a hunter, let alone an Argent."

"Don't put words in my mouth," snapped Derek. "The only thing I know is that we've both been royally fucked by tradition and prejudice and some sort of bullshit idea that how you were born limits who you can love."

Peter looked back at Derek, startled.

"If you love Chris Argent, then I want you to pursue it. See how he feels," said Derek. "I'm pretty sure we can all tell you that answer because he mopes and pines even louder than you do but you need to talk to the man."

"I can't. Not after everything with Kate and Gerard."

Derek looked furious. "First, Kate deserved what she got. Second, so did Gerard." His eyes glowed red at the memory of what Gerard had done to Stiles. "Chris killed his father for what the man did. Trust me when I say he doesn't blame you for that loss. I don't know that Argent would even consider it a loss in the first place."

Peter spoke wearily. "I still gave that family a reason to come after mine in the first place."

"No, you didn't. I'm not saying I've dealt with my own guilt enough because I haven't. But even if you gave Kate and Gerard their motive, and I gave them the means, it is not on us that they took the opportunity to murder innocents." Derek used every ounce of his control to stay calm. "And as painful as it is to admit, those particular Argents never would have known in the first place if it wasn't for our family. You told me that you went to Grandfather and asked him how to make it work. He was the one who informed Gerard of your relationship and demanded that Gerard keep Chris away from you."

"I highly doubt my father intended his words would be a catalyst for nearly wiping out our family."

"Then he should have paid better attention," interrupted Stiles fiercely.

"Stiles," started Derek.

"No! I haven't said much on this Derek because it didn't feel like my business. But Gerard threatened Peter and Peter told Edward Hale that and your grandfather, Peter's own father, didn't take it seriously. If he had, I seriously doubt you would have gotten away with sneaking around to see Kate. You're not that subtle." Stiles was angry. He'd been angry about this topic but he kept quiet because he knew it wasn't his fight. But he wasn't letting these two carry all the guilt anymore.

"Okay," said Derek soothingly. "Okay. The point is that the hatred of the idea of a Hale werewolf with an Argent hunter didn't come from me. And I'm not going to try and stop you now. You love Chris Argent, Peter. You deserve the chance to know if he loves you back."

Peter started crying again at that, small sniffling sobs that barely broke the silence. Derek reached his own arms out to Peter's shoulders, his hands touching Stiles' arm. They sat there together for a long time as Peter worked through his pain.

At the Argent home, Chris and Allison had been arguing more vocally for the last two hours. Ever since he had come home from the store with a broken look in his eyes and unbridled want written on every feature.

Allison kept insisting that he needed to talk to Peter, both to understand what had happened and to explore any possibility of a future.

Chris ran a hand wearily through his hair. "Allison, I know you're trying to be nice but you can stop. I don't like that you know about the past but it's going to stay in the past. Peter and I don't work anymore. Maybe we never did."

"No!" Allison stomped her foot in rage, well aware that it made her seem like a child but she was not letting this angst ridden guilt trip continue. "You didn't see the two of you, Dad. Or well, you did, but not the way I saw it. You love him. And I know you loved Mom too and maybe at one point you loved both at the same time. But I watched you and Mom and I never wanted a relationship like yours because it felt like a partnership. A good one, but it was like…" Her voice trailed away as she tried to think about it.

Chris sat still and listened.

Finally, Allison found the words. "It's like you knew that Mom could keep you safe and that you could protect her. But the way you look at Peter…it's the same way Scott looks at me, like he'd do anything to take care of me, even if it hurts him. Like he wants to do anything for me. And every once in a while your eyes flicker like you know Peter feels the same way."

"It doesn't matter…"

"Yes, it does. It absolutely matters." Allison sometimes hated that she cried when she was feeling strong emotions but she let the tears work for her today. "I got a chance to spend time with Derek and with the other pack members and not in a strategy meeting but actually hanging out. This could be really good for both of us, Dad. You need to try."

Chris didn't respond for a long time and when he finally looked at her again, his eyes were red. "What if he says no?"

"Then you give him a chance to realize he's wrong and he's scared and you remember that you're both stubborn as hell."

"What if he says yes?"

Allison gave him a puzzled glance.

"I'm a hunter, Allison. I've been a hunter since I was a boy and it's not just that it's all I know how to do, it's all I want to do. How am I supposed to reconcile that with a relationship with a werewolf? Especially considering our past."

"What do you think we've been doing for the past year?" asked Allison, a bit incredulously. "Dad, the code is there to protect the innocent against evil. At least that's how it started. Not this business now of a war based on which side you were born on. With the Alphas, and Grandpa, and the ghouls and everything in between, we've still been hunting the bad guys. We just forgot how to recognize that some of the good guys look a little furry."

Chris snickered at the image.

Allison took it as a good sign. "Every member of that pack is a hunter and a protector of this town and the people in it. I think if we learned how to be a real pack, not just a super crappy version of the Avengers, we could do a lot of good. And we could be happy doing it."

Chris had one last hesitation. "And you're okay with it? There are members of that pack who aren't exactly innocent of hurting you."

"I've got my own guilt to carry though. We're working it out, slowly but surely. This is important to me."

"And you trust Peter?" Chris sounded a little more incredulous at that one.

"No," answered Allison firmly. "I don't trust Peter. Yet. But Stiles does and I trust Stiles."

"Stiles is biased," protested Chris.

Allison shook her head. "Stiles is dangerous. He cares about that family yes, and our actions in the past keep him from trusting us as readily. But Stiles and Peter are the only two pack members who don't feel guilty about their kills. I don't think he'd trust Peter easily."

Chris still didn't seem convinced.

Allison sighed. "I think Peter's reasons for coming back from the dead have changed too. I don't know what they were in the first place but he's not the same. His sarcasm isn't as deflective since he was de-aged and he's quieter now. Again, I don't trust him, but I get the feeling that Peter doesn't know why he's here anymore. The only thing that seems obvious are his feelings towards you and neither of you are dealing with that. I'm willing to give him a chance, though I won't turn my back on him."

"Okay."

"Okay?" Allison was still cautious.

"Okay, I'll make an effort," promised Chris.

Allison reached out to hug her dad, promising silently that she'd make sure the effort was a success.


	15. Chapter 15

It was a disaster.

Every attempt to get the two adults together was a disaster.

Which led to the emergency meeting of Allison, Stiles, Derek, and Lydia.

"Wait, Lydia why are you here again?" asked Derek.

"Excuse me?" huffed Lydia indignantly.

"I wasn't aware you were all that invested in Peter and Chris getting back together," explained Derek. "Not that you weren't welcome to come to the house anytime. You do have a room here now."

Lydia smiled primly. "Oh. I'm here because the three of you clearly don't know how to be matchmakers at all. Also because Peter desperately needs a hobby and I'd rather he not revert to using my mind as a playground."

Derek really didn't know what to say to that. "Great. Uh…ideas?"

Stiles smothered a laugh in Derek's shoulder before kissing his cheek. "Don't worry, babe. She terrifies us all."

"Anyway," interrupted Allison. "I swear it's a disaster. Every time Peter tries to initiate a conversation, my dad ends up blushing and not being able to say a word in response."

"And then Peter second guesses himself, shifts into a wolf, and runs away," finished Stiles. "That's if it wasn't Chris talking first, which seems to lead to fights because Chris hasn't learned how to start a conversation that doesn't sound like he's threatening to slice someone in half."

Lydia smirked. "So a disaster."

"The biggest," growled Derek half-heartedly.

"Basically, what we need to do is set them up in a situation that they can't escape," explained Lydia. "We'll also provide conversation topics and sit nearby to help them along."

"Isn't that a little invasive?" asked Stiles.

Lydia shrugged. "Probably. But a few dates like that and maybe they'll be able to handle being around each other long enough to do it on their own without freaking out."

Allison looked pleadingly at Derek and Stiles. "Please guys. We have to try something and it's not like Lydia's idea can make things any worse."

The plan was set in motion. Derek was to make arrangements with Peter to go to dinner at a restaurant in town that specialized in gourmet comfort food. Lydia suggested that a nicer place would minimize the likelihood of either causing a scene.

Allison's job was to simply ask her dad to go out to dinner as a family. Once there, through encouragement and force if necessary, they'd insure that the two made it through at least one meal.

Lydia estimated it would take two months, one week—give or take a couple days—for Peter and Chris to truly work through their issues.

Derek and Allison seemed to be encouraged by Lydia's words at least. Allison left with Lydia, telling Derek she'd call with the details of her reservations as soon as possible.

Stiles turned to Derek as they left. "You okay?"

"Yeah. Why wouldn't I be?" asked Derek, puzzled.

"I just know you still have a hard time with the Argents. It's very generous of you to want to help three people who haven't exactly been on your good list for a long time," said Stiles. He moved closer to Derek and pulled his feet up onto the couch, tucking them under Derek's legs.

Derek rubbed Stiles' calves as he answered. "It's not easy. Sometimes. But Allison's trying and I can tell that she's sincere. Everyone's been working to be a pack these last few months and that means I have to work at it too. At least if it's something I really want."

"And is it?" asked Stiles cautiously.

Derek nodded. "It is. I still get scared it could all disappear on me again. But the pack is worth the effort."

Stiles leaned forward and kissed Derek. "Even if something did happen, you don't get to lose me. I'll always be with you."

"You shouldn't make promises so big," said Derek, though he looked happy and content at the thought. He tugged Stiles around so he was curled into Derek.

"You shouldn't underestimate the love of a Stilinski man," returned Stiles, resting his head on Derek's shoulder.

"No, I really shouldn't," agreed Derek, giving Stiles one last kiss before allowing himself to fall asleep.

* * *

Peter stepped into the restaurant while Derek parked the car a couple blocks away. It was packed as usual on a Saturday night, but the reservation would allow them to bypass too long of a wait. Peter started to give his name to the hostess when a hand fell on his arm.

"Peter."

"Melissa?" Peter raised an eyebrow. While he wasn't one to put an emphasis on money, there was no way the McCall family could afford to eat here. "Are you on a date?" he asked, making the easy assumption.

"I'm actually hoping to salvage yours," said Melissa, shaking her head in answer to his question.

"I think you might be confused. Derek and I are enjoying some family time."

Melissa inclined her head towards a table by the window where Chris Argent sat with Allison, who was fidgeting. John Stilinski was approaching the table. "It seems that some of your fellow pack members want to assist you and Chris in working out your issues. Derek and Allison weren't planning on staying tonight." She turned her head slightly to indicate the other table where Stiles and Lydia sat mostly hidden from view.

"Son of a…" Peter cut himself off before finishing that thought. "I need to leave before Derek gets back."

"You could do that," said Melissa kindly. "Or you could let John and I help you out a little."

"I'm not sure I follow."

"You can take your chances going out the front door or you could try getting the date on your terms."

Peter hesitated. "You think Chris would go for it."

Melissa smiled at him, nicer than he deserved for his treatment of her in the past. "I think you love him and he loves you and that both of you waste far too much time second guessing each other. Come with me."

She led him down through the side hallway that led to the restrooms, then took a detour through an employees only door, going into the kitchen. A quick wave at one of the chefs told Peter how Melissa managed that advantage. When she opened the back door, he gratefully breathed the fresh air and felt a bit less stifled.

"Chris will be out here in a few seconds," said Melissa. "Just be honest, Peter. You might be surprised at the results."

Peter took another deep breath and tried to settle his nerves. "Okay. Thank you."

"Of course." Melissa slipped back inside the restaurant.

Just as she'd promised, the door had barely closed behind her when Chris and John came walking around the corner. Chris stopped abruptly in his tracks, while John just nodded at Peter and turned back out of the alleyway.

"Peter," said Chris hesitantly.

"Derek and Allison were trying to set us up," explained Peter. "Melissa and John decided to step in."

"Oh." Chris looked upset, like he was hoping it was something different. "I'll just go then. Sorry your plans got ruined."

Peter lunged forward and grabbed Chris' arm. "Wait. Chris, please wait."

Chris didn't try to walk away and Peter took the gesture as a positive sign.

"I still love you," he blurted out. And oh shit that was not really what he meant to say. He'd wanted to start out with an easier topic.

"You do?" asked Chris, eyes brightening.

Peter nodded. "I do."

Chris kissed him. He pulled back and Peter stared at him, wide-eyed and open mouthed. "I love you too," whispered Chris.

Then he pushed Peter up against the wall and kissed him again, this time letting his teeth nip at Peter's lips and beg for entrance.

Peter let him in willingly, whimpering little sounds of pleasure as he kissed Chris back again.

When the kisses moved from hot and heavy to the distinct feeling of clothing optional, Peter pulled away panting. "We should probably be somewhere private if this is going to go any further."

"You have an apartment don't you?" asked Chris, licking a long swipe up Peter's neck, just the way he always used to, before biting at Peter's ear lobe.

"Uh huh," answered Peter breathlessly. His nose caught the scent of pepperoni from the food truck at the end of the alley and he smiled at the idea that popped in his mind.

"What?" Chris grinned back, eyes dancing with joy.

Peter pointed at the food truck. "Buy you a slice if you walk me home." It was the same offer Chris had made him on their first date.

"Leave off the onions & add a good night kiss and you've got a deal," answered Chris, the same way Peter did back then.

Peter decided he should probably kiss Chris one more time before getting more pizza. Or three more times. But no one was really counting.

* * *

Once Derek, Stiles, Allison, and Lydia were informed of the change in plans by Melissa, Allison and Lydia left while Derek decided to take advantage of the reservation. He and Stiles ate and then went to rejoin the pack for a previously proposed movie night. Even though Derek was pretty sure they all just wanted the details on the date that wasn't.

Derek & Stiles arrived home to find the entire pack crowded in the den around Danny.

"Uh, what's going on guys?" asked Derek, not sure he wanted to know the answer.

"Danny hacked into Peter's computer," answered Erica. "So we can see the aftermath."

"Twenty bucks says he writes in a diary about his pain," said Jackson.

"I made popcorn," added Isaac.

Stiles gaped. "Even you're in on this? Isaac, I'm shocked."

"Hey, I've wished for a moment like this," said Isaac. "Peter's the best entertainment we've had in weeks."

"You're all horrible, awful people," said Derek as he sat down between Isaac and Danny.

Stiles gave him a look. "Seriously?"

"Oh c'mon, like you don't want to see it. You know as well as I do how much Peter talks to himself to work through his issues. Think of all the blackmail possibilities." Derek grinned up at Stiles.

Stiles flopped himself across Derek, Isaac, and Lydia and propped his chin in his hands to watch. "Good point."

They had to wait about twenty more minutes before the sound of the door opening in Peter's apartment could be heard.

"And he's back," announced Danny, causing the pack to press in closer.

Danny was right. Peter was back. His back was also the first thing they saw, as Peter's legs were wrapped around Chris, who half carried and half stumbled them into the apartment.

Peter moaned loud enough for the webcam to catch the noise.

"Oh my god," laughed Stiles, squirming up and off the couch.

Derek nearly knocked the computer to the ground in his haste to get away from the images in front of him. "Shut it off, Danny, for the love of my sanity, shut it off!"

Lydia and Boyd were collapsing in peals of laughter.

"I have to go soak my brain in Lysol," cried Allison, following Derek, Scott, and Jackson out of the living room and continuing to express her displeasure.

Danny turned off the webcam, smirking more than a little bit and joined Erica in picking out a movie for everyone to watch instead.

Stiles looked over at Isaac with a devious grin. "Hey Isaac?"

"What?"

"Next time, be careful what you wish for."

* * *

**And that's it kids! I debated stretching this out a little longer but I think it's plenty long as is and this is a good place to end the story. I'm glad so many of you liked it. Feel free to go check out my latest story: The League of Extraordinary Citizens because I would love to know your thoughts. You can also find me on Tumblr or Twitter where I obsess about Dylan's hands and Tyler's smile (amongst other things) on a daily basis.**


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